Harry Potter and the Seekers of Unknown
by Yelaisha
Summary: PostHBP. Major spoilers! Harry Potter remembered well about the night when... Set right after HBP, and this is my version of Book 7. See how Harry and company grow and take on what Dumbledore had started.
1. Chapter 1 Contemplation

**Harry Potter and Seekers of the Unknown**

1. Contemplation

Harry Potter remembered well about the night when he and Dumbledore went to the cave for the locket, which turned out to be a fake Horcrux; how the two went aboard the boat, how Dumbledore drank the terrible potion which eventually killed him later, as undoubtedly it was why he was weak and could not put a fight against Malfoy or Snape; how Harry panicked facing full of Inferi using all kinds of hexes he could think of, though completely forgetting the only solution: fire.

He could remember what Dumbledore told him, and what he showed him in the Pensieve as if they were just minutes ago. He did say _'your blood is worth more than mine'_.

What exactly did he mean by that?  
He also remembered.

_"Why can't I drink the potion instead?" asked Harry desparately.  
"Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable," said Dumbledore. "Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking"_

And he had to follow his order as he did give his word.

_'... much less valuable?'_  
Harry thought.  
He did not understand what he meant then, nor did he now.  
How could Harry be more valuable than the only wizard Voldemort ever feared, the unmistakable leader of the Order, and the best headmaster Hogwarts ever had?

Yes, the prophecy did say it's either him or Voldemort, but it was only a prophecy. It would be made true only when all the participants go along with it. It should not be regarded as solid as facts.

On that journey, he didn't have to do much: he just needed to do as Dumbledore told him to: It was Dumbledore who found its whereabouts; it was Dumbledore who correctly identified how to obtain it; and it was Dumbledore who turned away those horrible Inferi with his fire.

Harry, on the other hand, made several errors, quite possibly complicating the situation, and worst of all, got panic facing Inferi. If that was the best he could do, he was doomed. No matter what the prophecy said, it did not matter.

He had to learn many things, but most importantly, he had to be able to stay calm and keep his mind clear, no matter what. He also needed to know more, be wiser, and stronger -- physically and magically. Ever since the event, thus, he has been working out even more than he used to for Quidditch, and he was now studying -- much more than he used to for his classes, with urgency. Plus, he started meditating, and learning martial arts, by obtaining self-defense technique material by owl post. It allowed him to learn basics of physical combat. He was quite interested in Karate mentioned there, and with Tonks and Lupin's help, he began training himself.

Harry remembered the duel with Snape. Any attempts to hex Snape failed miserably, as he was very quick in countercurses. Come to think of it, it was as if Snape was actually teaching him... _"Blocked again and again and again until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed, Potter"_

"Well, I certainly will by the time I face you again," he mumbled to himself. He was getting more comfortable in casting spells wordlessly.

But would there be next time? And when?  
The vision of Dumbledore pleading in face of Snape came back to him.

"NO!"

He was standing up, yelling without realizing he was. He was quite shocked to find out what his outburst -- supposedly only inside his own head -- caused seconds later... There was a BANG! on the door, and in came his uncle, Vernon Dursley.

"WHAT!?"

"Nothing, " he said simply.

"NOTHING? You are saying you screamed your brain out for nothing?"

Harry could feel the rage his uncle was radiating there, just by hearing the hushed voice.  
Harry quietly looked into his uncle's eyes.  
He was no longer an orphan living at the mercy of these people. He knew quite well what he was capable of, and knew his uncle, aunt, and cousin were actually fearful of him.

"Nothing of importance has happened to you all -- so, as I said, nothing"

Harry spoke in such a calm voice, showing no emotion whatsoever.  
Uncle Dursley glared, but seeing that there was no point in arguing, he just said "Fine. Don't yell in the middle of the night"  
There was another BANG! and he was gone.

_'Damn,'_ he thought bitterly.  
_'I cannot let my emotion take over me like this'_

He laid back on his bed, and looked out of the window.  
The usual street lamps were on, and there was half moon in the sky above, gently lighting this world now bound for sorrow, at the hand of Lord Voldemort.

That is, if Harry was unable to stop him.

He had to find the remaining Horcruxes, presumably four of them left, then had to get to the last bit of the severed soul, Lord Voldemort himself, no matter what or how many obstacles are. And there is this problem of many Death Eaters and their allies, such as dementors. In comparison, his side seemed quite vulnerable... On their side were Order including Hagrid and his giant half-brother, Grawp, Dobby the house-elf, and maybe Firenze the centaur, maybe merpeople, and hopefully goblins... The list was rather short compared to the other side. Order of Phoenix was outnumbered, and especially weakened because its leader, Dumbledore was gone. What the Order of Phoenix was planning to do in this war, and where its Headquarter was, Harry did not know. Dumbledore was the unequivocal leader and organizer in planning and preparing attack against ever-more-strong forces of evil and dark arts. Now that he was gone, there was no one else fitting the bid as successor to the most respected wizard of the time.

Now that Dumbledore's gone, he had no one to protect him or guide him any more. Harry was 'marked equal', yes, but he sure did not find that likely. In his mind, he was no match for Voldemort if he faced him alone right now. He was able to see quite clearly how he survived thus far, and it was only because Lily Potter, his mother, had sacrificed herself, and other people who loved him arranged everything there was to protect him. Those protective measures will be gone pretty soon, when he becomes of age. And yet, he had to do what he felt was right. It was something he's got to do, no matter what the outlook was. He was willing to admit it that chances are slim, but he knew he would not run. He was determined to complete what many before him had started. 'Boy', thought Harry. It was going to be very tough, and he knew, more than ever, that he needed as much as help as he could.

Now the mission. 'Where do we begin searching for the remaining four Horcruxes?' Harry had no idea where to begin. Dumbledore did mention some clues as to what to look for, but whereabouts of the remaining Horcruxes were unknown even to Dumbledore. Harry was now getting into the unknown territory, where he would be looking for any slightest clues to get to what he could accomplish his goal: to identify and destroy every Horcrux. He was the youngest seeker the Hogwarts ever witnessed in more than a century. He is now a seeker for the Horcrux, not a snitch, and it can be deadly. 'Well, I guess we are the "Seekers of the Horcruxes", though I better not say it aloud... Better make it "Seekers of the Unknown"... sounds odd, but OK'

He liked the idea of having a cryptic name attached.  
It sounded rather corny, but somehow, he felt it sounded right.

_'Speaking of a name'_

R.A.B., who supposedly was once a Death Eater but found out about a Horcrux and planned to destroy one. Harry still had no idea who it might be, and to his knowledge neither did Ron or Hermione. He made a mental note to discuss with them about this again when he sees them.  
Then he remembered a place of significance to Voldemort.

Chamber of Secrets.

_'What if there was more than the basilisk kept in?' _He did see vast space the chamber had, and he did not have time to look for other things in there. Since Tom Riddle was the only Parselmouth in his days, he might have felt safe to keep something important in the chamber, as he did in his locker long ago when he was in an orphanage. Tom Riddle made his first Horcrux , a diary, when he was only sixteen. Who knows what he did when he was in his sixth and seventh year? Whether the school reopens or not, he did need to get back in there, then. Going back to Hogwarts did not seem such a bad idea, it seemed.

_"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"_, Dumbledore once told him, after the incident in the Chamber of Secrets. Yes, it was his choice whether to go against Voldemort alone or to put up a fight as concerted attack with everyone involved. It is his choice, not Ron, not Hermione, nor Ginny. However, he did know as well that he would not be able to do it alone. He needed all help he could get. It would be foolish to take on all the Death Eaters, magical creatures on their side, Horcruxes, and Voldemort. _'But How do we do it, though?' _Harry knew fully well that no one else would be able to plan the counterattack properly -- he had to do it with the help of Ron and Hermione.

They have decided in their compartment of Hogwarts Express that Harry will be leaving for the Burrow before the wedding along with Ron and Hermione who are of age already, so they can perform magic without the Ministry intervention. While they were alone, three of them agreed that they'd be spending time with their respective family for a week , then would meet at Dursley's. Ron and Hermione needed time to persuade their parents about their decision. They were going to come with him from the King's Cross, but Harry persuaded them otherwise, stating that although they were of age, it would be good to be with their family for the little time they have, if they were to be on the journey ahead. He had no idea how long the search was going to be, but he knew he'd have to be quiet until he was of age. At the same time, though, he was not going to waste this last bit of time the blood protection offered him. He needed this time to prepare in many ways, physically, mentally, and magically.

The wedding of Bill and Fleur was set to be on June 21, Sunday, and he was expected there, though he was not sure if he should even be there. Nonetheless, the days at the Privet Drive were numbered, and Harry was spending every little time left for his preparetion and secret training.

His thoughts drifted to his best friends... Ron and Hermione.

He had to smile as he remembered how they used to bicker against each other all the time, then finally came to senses and got together. He saw the two crying together at the time of the funeral when Harry left the spot. Later, they told him they'd be alongside him, looking for Horcruxes and so on. He was quite stunned to hear it, but appreciated their willingness and loyalty, feeling comfortable to be with. They have been his best friends, from the first year onward, and been together in so many things. To him, Hermione's intellect and knowledge, Ron's tactics being an excellent chess player, and their friendship would be very important, if not essential, in the war ahead against Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort. The fact that they knew as much as he did and yet were willing to stay together with him meant loads to him. But what if they die because of Harry? Would he still be able to go on and kill Voldemort? Would he still function at all? He was not sure.

Or how about Ginny?

He told himself and Ginny that he no longer should keep their relationship up, to avoid the seemingly inevitable trap of Voldemort using Ginny to get to Harry. He reasoned that if he did not see her, Voldemort would not use Ginny against him. On their way back on Hogwarts Express, with members of Order on board, both Harry and Ginny acted as if nothing had happened between the two, as if they were just friends, not as intimate as they had become prior to the death of Dumbledore. He was rather proud of himself and Ginny that they were able to display nonchalance between themselves to others, even in their private compartment. There have been many suspicious looks their way, but together, they managed to pull the act, though he felt quite drained when they arrived the Kings Cross Station. It was only two days ago, but he felt as if it was ages ago.

He was recalling the chain of events that night, then realized... Malfoy. Undoubtedly, being in the same year, Draco Malfoy knew Harry and Ginny were going out. He would be more than likely now with Death Eaters, having fled from Hogwarts with Snape that night, who also knows of their relationship. So, even if Harry pretends to break up with Ginny afterwards, it would not matter. Even if Harry was not going out with Ginny anymore, once she was his girlfriend, he was sure Voldemort would take advantage of that... and he knew she was 'the' woman to him even now. He was not able to shut her out of his mind, especially now that he was alone. He knew he would not be able to take away his feelings for Ginny -- he simply loved her too much to do so. He'd do anything for her, even if it costs his own life or safety, but he was not going to risk her anything.

He told Ginny that he wanted to be sure she was safe. He was not so sure if she'd be safe away from him now. He knew he loved her, and would not be able to hide his feelings for her; he was never good at Occlumecy.

Besides, as he knew it now, there was no safe place for sure on this planet. Despite of all the protective measures, he was uncertain how long the Burrow will be safe if Death Eaters decide to attack in full force, just like they did Hogwarts.

The answer was pretty obvious. No, it wasn't safe much longer, be it the Burrow or Grimauld Place, if Vodemort decided to attack there specifically.

And what if the Burrow was attacked when he was not around? The thought was terrifying, and he felt chills through his spine at this thought, though he already knew that it was a good possibility. He resisted the sudden urge to run to the Burrow. He was sure he'd spend the rest of however long time quite nervous and anxious, wishing her the best of luck... No, it would not be good.

However, she was still not of age, and it was very unlikely that Mrs. Weasley would allow her to come with him in such a dangerous mission. Ginny did tell him _"What if I don't care?"_ about the risks, implying that she'd be very willing to risk all and come with him. She did come with him and others to the Ministry of Magic to fight Death Eaters and rescue Sirius. She fractured her leg then, but she did quite well fighting at the time. Ginny made her choice then, and should make one on her own for this. As much as Harry loved her, he was not the one to make a decision for her.

_"... I think you ought to relax it in favor of your friends... I think they ought to know. You do them a disservice by not confiding something this important to them." _Harry recalled. Dumbledore made him aware that he needed his friends, and that he should not shut himself away. And yet, he is doing the same thing to Ginny again._  
_

_'Am I stupid or what?'  
'Yeah, now you're telling me!'  
_

He heard his inner voices. "Right..." he mumbled to himself.  
It seemed that he and Ginny will have to talk again... a lot, and soon.

It was Sunday afternoon again.

Ron and Hermione would be here any minute.

Harry had told his uncle and aunt about a couple of his friends coming to stay for a week before he left for good. Vernon Dursley glared, but nodded on a condition that Harry was responsible for taking care of foods and such, and made it quite clear that his friends were not welcome under his roof, although Harry gave them no choice but to go along.

Harry has already made his room clear of all the junk that he had piled over the years, and magically expanded inside with the help of Remus Lupin who was on duty at the time, so that the each of them can at least sleep comfortably in a bed. He and Remus had agreed that staying outside the house would be dangerous, even with Harry being protected still. He told Lupin about the incident two years ago when he and Dudley was attacked by two dementors sent by a Ministry official, Umbridge. If the Ministry knows his house during the summer, it is only logical that Death Eaters should probably know it, and should be able to attack him or anyone close to him if they goes outside the house. Aurors or members of the Order were around the house on duty still, but that would not be enough if they decide to attack him in full force.

He was watching news on TV to see any hint of Death Eater activities on Muggle network when the chime indicated the house had a visitor. Harry was the first to get to the door, and opened hastily when he recognized who were standing outside.

"Hey, Mate! Good to see ya!"  
"How have you been, Harry?"  
"I've been good, now even better with you two here. Come in."

When the door was closed, the three heard a thunderous voice.

"You! You think you can get away bringing in your girlfriend into your room in my household?"

For whatever reason, Vernon Dursley's face was filled with rage.  
Ron and Hermione looked to Harry quizzically, though their expression was of amuzement and distaste.

"First of all, Uncle Vernon, they are both my best friends as I told you. Second, Hermione is NOT my girlfriend, she's Ron's. Third, it is none of your business, now please excuse us."

Harry's voice was calm, but there was a distinct strength behind it, even Vernon must have sensed it, as he did not interrupt Harry.

Harry ushered the other two toward the stairs.

"Oh, no, I don't think so, kids."

Apparently recovered from the shock that Harry was not obeying him as he used to, Vernon Dursley thundered, and attempted to block the passage only to be pushed away by none other than Harry. His voice was calm, though there was an unmistakable hint of threat and determination.  
"Shut up. As I said, this is NONE of your business. We will not disturb you only if you don't, and you have agreed. Now get out of our way."  
Vernon Dursley knew that Harry was not to perform magic outside of the school, but even he had to understand that Harry Potter was no longer a small child at his mercy. Disgruntled, he let them pass by him, but not before calling to Harry from behind. "You know the rules here! None of your silly abnormal things in my household. Got it?"  
Harry just waved his hands, and went up the stairs to his room.

"Here, come in."

Ron entered the room which looked to be rather small for all three of them to be in. He mumbled something like it would be very crowded, then ...

"Woa! Did you enchant this room, Harry?"

He was sure the room looked very small with his bed almost taking up entire space from outside. But now that he actually entered the room, it was quite roomy, furnished with three beds, a nice round table with chairs, and a small kitchen! The room even had a bathroom, so that they could actually spend the rest of the week in the room without even having to bother Dursleys for shower or anything else.

"No, Moony and Tonks did it for us when they were on duty the other night. We had a little chat about what we were planning here, and ... here it is. Nice, huh?"

Ron could not agree more about this, considering how it used to be.  
On a farside corner, there was physical training instruments, which Harry has been training himself with. Ron immediately spotted them, and asked,

"You've been working out?"  
"Yeah." Harry answered simply.

Hermione followed in, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh, Harry, this is nice. You know you can't use magic here though, don't you?"

Harry made a mock shocked face. "You don't like this? I had to beg Moony to do this for you secretly, so you don't have to camp outside... but of course I could remove the charm if you'd rather like to be stuffed together."

Seeing his friends' faces, he began to laugh.

"Well, come to think of it, I guess you two don't mind even if you're stuck to each other, don't you? In that case..."

Harry pulled out his wand.

"Oh no, you're not, Harry."  
"Yeah, mate. we need you in this room to properly discuss things."  
"... _properly?_"

Harry and Hermione asked Ron in unison, their eyes tinkling in amusement.  
He raised his hands in defeat. "All right, I'm not going to say anything. Let's just get on with what we're here for, shall we?"

"OK."

They settled their luggage to the side of the room, and locked the door.  
Hermione took some packages out of her trunk.

"I think it's about lunchtime anyway. Care for a meal before we discuss things?"  
"That would be nice. It's been a while I got some decent meal... Thanks, Hermione."  
"You're welcome. You, Ron?"

He was taking several containers out of his trunk as well.

"Of course. I did bring some, too. Mom got us some prepared. Let's dig in."

After several plates and butterbeers, Harry got up, and washed the dishes without using magic. Hermione dried, and Ron put them away. Harry pulled out three cans of butterbeer as they returned to the table. Hermione pulled out a parchment and several books from her trunk, whereas Ron drew out a letter.

"Here, Harry. This is from Dad."

He glanced at the letter. It said he and Ron are to take the apparition test on July 31, on his birthday. There was an appointment card with the letter. He nodded.

"I guess you and I are to go to the Ministry for apparition test, Ron."  
"Right, Dad told me about that. So the letter is about the test appointment, then?"  
"Yeah. I need to present this card to take it. You have yours, I assume?"  
"I do, as a matter of fact... though I'd have to make sure it's with me later."  
"Ron, you didn't forget your appointment card?"  
"Of course not! It should be in my trunk somewhere... Well, I'll look later. Don't worry, it should be somewhere in there."

There was a smirk on Hermione's face.

"You mean, this card?"

Ron looked at the card in amazement. Harry had to chuckle at the sight.

"Wha-- How -- Bloody hell! How in the world did you get it out of my stuff?"  
"I didn't get it out. Mrs. Weasley picked up from your bed, and gave it to me this morning before we came. She must have known that you'd lose or something."

Ron mumbled something incomprehensible, and quickly snatched it from her hand. Harry carefully place the card inside the envelope, and placed in his trunk.

Noticing that Ron was embarassed and Hermione looked rather uneasy, he decided to change the subject.

"How's Bill doing?"

Ron's expression was mixed.

"... He's doing all right, I think."

Harry looked at Hermione, who said, "At least, I heard he did not exhibited any signs last full moon, though."

"The cursed wounds did not quite heal." completed Ron.  
"... I see."

There was a pause, then Harry asked.

"Would the wounds go away when the attacker is done away?"

Surprise filled the faces of the two.

"You mean, if Greyback is dead?"  
"Yeah."  
"... I don't know. Once the wound is contaminated, the effect would not go away, I think... but there is no record of werewolf leaving a cursed scar when not transformed, and so anything is possible, I suppose," Hermione said, thinking.

"Right. We just need to hope for the best, then."

All three nodded somberly.

Hermione thrusted a parchment each to Harry and Ron.

"Well, I thought about the whole things, and here are things I think we need to discuss before we start. You did bring your own, right, Ron? And you, Harry?"

On their way on the Hogwarts Express, they did agree to brainstorm individually until they get together and plan, but....  
Ron grimaced at her parchment.

"Uhh... Hermione?"  
"Yes?"  
"You know we only have a week, right?"

She simply raised one of her eyebrows at this, and made no comment about it.

Harry decided to cut in. "Let's just hear her out, Ron. We can prioritize things after that."  
Ron hesitated for a second, then said. "All right, we do need to cover a lot of things. Just that setting priorities may be difficult, you know?"

"You know she is the most thorough and meticulous to every detail of us three, Ron. We're ready, Hermione"

She smiled at Harry, then at Ron, and started.

"Setting priorities can be accomplished properly only after we all come up with everything to do, you know? Here are things I could come up with. Why don't you two look at the list, and see if you can add anything else?"

Harry carefully read through her list, and grimaced at mid-way through it where it said 'Snape'.

"What do you think about Snape, Harry?"

As if she read his mind, Hermione asked him.

"... Why?"  
"Do you think Dumbledore was right? I mean, he could have staged up his own end by making Snape kill himself... wait, I know this sounds crazy!" she added hastily, seeing Harry grimace. "But think about it. How could Dumbledore be so wrong about Snape for all those years! Snape did help Dumbledore on previous occasions, right? Snape might have discussed with him about the Unbreakable Vow to protect Malfoy, and... "

"Well, Hermione." Harry replied quietly. His green eyes were stern.  
"The thing is, it doesn't matter if Snape acted on Dumbledore's order or not now. To me, it is personal. Snape killed a person very important to me, I vow to avenge. Simple as that."

Hermione's expression was of sorrow but with understanding. She looked into Harry's eyes, and nodded.

Hermione's list was long, but was very complete. Ron was shaking his head, mumbling how could a person possibly come up with these unbearably long list. Harry had to chuckle at this, knowing him too well that it was a way of his compliment to the girl in front of him. Then Harry came across a sentence: _'How can we make sure that a person is who he or she looks like or claims?'_

He looked up. Hermione was looking straight at him. Her expression was serious.

"Yeah... how do we know? Let's say, how do I know you are Hermione?"  
"And how do I know you are Harry as we know?"  
"How do I know it's Ron, and not some imposter taking Polyjuice Potion?"

Ron looked up, confused.

"I know who you two are, though. I just know it."  
"Well, mate. I know, but let's say we got separated for a while, and met again later. We only need to look at our eyes if Imperius Curse is on, I know. But how can we be sure of someone look like from someone real? We could use Legilimency, though I'm not very good at it."

"Here's another possible answer, Harry."

Hermione opened one of her books, and showed a chapter to him. It read... "'teth vitalis et sanguis' -- The Bonding of Lives in Blood."  
Harry and Ron looked up at her.

"What does this do?"  
"Honestly, you two don't read? This is in the book for NEWT! I thought we agreed to each one of us getting a copy of the 7th year texts, and self-study since we're not going back. I'm the only one who studied, then?"  
"Oh, I have the books, though I must admit I'm not there yet."  
"Yeah, neither do I. It's been only a week, though! How can you even finish reading that much?"

She just sighed at this comment by Ron. This was nothing new. She has been the first to finish reading, whether it was textbooks or other reading material, always. Some things never change, Harry mused silently, and waited for her response.

Seeing that the two were waiting, she sighed again, and continued.

"Teth vitalis et sanguis is a way of magically bonding lives of people who care for each other so that one can communicate each other in their mind if they choose to. Those who bonded can feel each other even when they are separated with great distance, and... "  
"... Sounds like it is for a wedding ceremony"  
"Right, Ron. It is one of the ancient rituals performed at wedding ceremony. It can only be done once in life, and only between two people. The thing is, once it's done, it cannot be undone even if you wanted to. It is not commonly performed these days."

Harry and Ron looked at each other.

"What are you suggesting, Harry and I do this, then?"  
"Nah, Ron. I think it should be you and Hermione. I think we know each other enough to tell a fake, and if I'm not much mistaken, this should be done between a couple in love, not just two people."

Hermione nodded, her cheeks slightly pink. She continued,

"And I think you should do it, too, Harry."

Ron said calmly, nodding at her.

"Right. Ginny is my little sister, and you and I both know where your heart is, Harry. You told me about your so-called 'break-up', but you know what? I don't buy that crap! And... she's a mess, Harry! We were able to come without her only because Mom absolutely forbid her, saying she was still underage, and needed to help preparation for the wedding."

Harry sighed.

"Listen. Once we are at the Burrow, I will talk with Ginny, I swear. I owe it to her to explain things at the least. I know I hurt her, ... and myself though I felt it was best for her at the time. Anyway, for now, let's just continue with planning, OK?"

Seeing that the two friends looked at him, shruggin as if to say 'Whatever,' he sighed again. Harry decided that he'd have no say in things about Ginny at this point, and continued.

"I agree that you two should perform this ritual. Communication without risk of being intercepted is always good. Oh, and this is my to-do list. Why don't you read it over? And you have yours, right Ron? Let's just compare notes, shall we?" Ron nodded, and pulled out a couple of parchments from his trunk.

Harry pulled out a couple of parchments which he was preparing the past few weeks. On the list, he included Gringotts, the wedding, visiting Godric Hollow, Grimauld Place, and Hogwarts in additiion to studying and training. He had put down reasons for visiting Hogwarts... the Chamber of Secrets, Room of Requirement, and Dumbledore's portrait.

"You're not going there to get the Prince's book, are you, Harry?" asked Hermione as if she was accusing him of a crime.  
"No."

She looked visibly relieved, though only until he said, "I already have that book back." Harry continued hastily, stopping her protest, "I need to know what Snape has in his sleeves if I were to face him, Hermione. But that is not the reason I wanted to go back to the Room of Requirement. I just remembered, when I tried to hide the book, I noticed an old-looking tiara. There were so many things in there that may be useful for us. Maybe even Horcrux was in there, too. You see, say if Riddle wanted to hide something while he was at Hogwarts, don't you think it is the first place to consider?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. It seemed utterly impossible that Voldemort would hide his Horcrux in Hogwarts itself, right under the nose of Dumbledore. However, they did remember Dumbledore mention about the 'remarkable' room. He even openly admitted he did not know everything in Hogwarts. They would need to find out which of Founding Fathers' heirloom still exist today, and search anyways, and Hogwarts library seemed to be a good starting point for that research.

They discussed late into the night, and continued for the rest of the week. They'd eat, do some workout, study, and discuss. There were much to discuss, and this room was perfect for the intense discussion without having to worry about eavedropping and such. Surprisingly both Harry and Ron, Hermione knew quite a lot about working out, and was more fluent in using Harry's equipments than its owner. She even demonstrated how to use them in ways Harry did not know of, but very effective. When Ron asked how she knew them so well, she simply stated that girls have a reputation to keep, and did not elaborate.

When they finished planning and discussing things through, Hermione pulled out her wand, and muttered, _'Incendio'_, destroying the parchments in flame.

It was late afternoon. They were to take off for the Burrow in a few minutes.

His trunk was ready, and Harry gave one last glance at where his room used to be. This was it. This was the last glimpse of this place that he would see, ever. He was going to leave without saying anything to the Dursleys initially, but changed his mind when he woke up this morning. He did owe them the past 16 years, even though most were not pleasant.

"Well," Harry started, facing the three at the front door to the house, and he noticed their face showed strange expression of mixed feelings. Aunt Petunia handed him an envelope.

"What's this?" perplexed, Harry asked.

"When I agreed with Dumbledore of taking you, I received this letter with a key in it. You will need it to enter your parents' home if you decide to go back there."

"... Er ... thanks," not knowing what else to say, he said as he took the envelope. Inside, he also noted something else... a note. It was blank. He looked up at Aunt Petunia with a questioning look, which she answered curtly.

"You will need to read the note after you enter the house, he said."

He nodded.

"I see. Now, it is time. Thanks... for the past 16 years -- well, almost 16 years, anyway. I will leave in a moment with my friends, and will never come back to this place, so rest assured that you will not see me, ever again," said Harry quietly. The Dursleys did not say a thing. Mainly to Petunia, he continued.

"Remember what I told you last week, Aunt Petunia?"

She merely nodded and whispered, "We are on our way tomorrow."

"OK. Give it at least til early August, right?" She nodded. Harry had mentioned of the ancient protection ward Dumbledore had placed on him via his mother's blood lineage. It will be gone soon, and he was fairly certain that there will be an attack planned. Aurors had set up a trap, and the Dursleys were to spend some extended holiday in Switzerland.

Harry was to rejoin Ron and Hermione at Mrs. Figgs. He thought this parting should at least be private among themselves. Ron already picked up Harry's trunk, and Hermione had Hedwig. He could see Moody, Lupin and Tonks were approaching as well, as their escort.

"Good bye, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley."  
Said Harry, with some strange, strenuous tone, after eyeing each of them.

This time, Petunia gave him a nod, with her eyes near tears.

"Bye, Harry. I know we've never been good to you and all, but do take care."

Stunned that she actually gave him a proper good bye, Harry did not move for a few moments nor spoke. Vernon and Dudley merely waved their hands.

Harry nodded, then turned his back to them, and without looking back, went to the neighbor's house, where they would be shielded from any Muggle's view to apparate away.


	2. Chapter 2 Confession

**Harry Potter and Seekers of the Unknown**

**2. Confession**

They arrived at the front of the Burrow... and it was chaos in the making, to say the least. Every Weasley was in house, including Percy who took the opportunity of Bill's wedding invitation and apologized to his family of his past mistakes. Fleur and Bill were getting married in one week, and everybody was getting ready. Fleur's family apparently has arrived, and were trying to do everything possible. The three adults had to leave as soon as they arrived here, and were gone after a hasty exchange of greetings.

"Well, ..."  
"Shall we go in?"  
"Of course. They've been expecting us hours ago!" scowled Hermione.  
They were supposed to arrive early afternoon, rather than this late in the evening.  
"What? Don't tell me it was my fault? Harry did need to say proper goodbye, you know that!"  
"I know! All I'm saying is we are a bit later than we originally planned. I'm not blaming or anything!"  
"Oh, yeah? You sure sounded like..."

Even now, Ron and Hermione kept their usual row. _'Certain things never change'_ Harry again mused. Smiling, he decided to ignore his friends' little 'discussion', and enter. Ron and Hermione followed, when Mrs. Weasley found who just came into the house.  
"Harry! How are you? It's so good to see you!"  
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."  
"And you too, Hermione dear. Thank goodness you're all here safe and sound. How were things at your uncle's place, dear?"

Harry quickly filled her in what they did there -- essentially all studying for NEWTs, as far as she is concerned. He could tell how proud she was about her Ron studying in summer vacation, and knew she somewhat misunderstood him, but Harry and Hermione looked at each other briefly, and decided not to correct it then, hiding their chuckle. Instead, Harry decided to change subject.  
"So how's the preparation coming along?"  
"Well, as good as it can be, I suppose. I'm sure there's a lot of things you could help out, of course."  
Ron gruntled at this, and did not comment. Hermione rolled her eyes.  
"We'd love to help, Mrs. Weasley."  
Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly at her.  
"Thank you, dear. Well, you can get your things upstairs. Ron, show Harry where he's staying. Hermione dear, you are with Ginny, OK?"  
"OK, mum."  
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."  
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."  
With that, Mrs. Weasley hurried to the kitchen.

* * *

When Ron opened the door, he froze, looking disbelievingly at Ginny in there.

"'bout time you came up."

Her eyes showed her determination and something else... there was a fire glazing in her eyes, and was looking at the one behind Ron. Harry did not faze a bit, just looking back at her, but Ron was furious that his little sister would enter his room without his permission.

"Ginny, this is my room! What are you doing in here?" demanded Ron.  
"Waiting for Harry." She replied without even flinching at the force of his voice.  
Hermione looked at her, then Harry. His expression was of understanding, not one of surprise.  
"... You were expecting this?"  
"No, Hermione... not really, but it does not surprise me. I'm not sure if she and I have the same idea, but I do know I need to talk to her, too."

His voice was surprisingly calm, but without any emotion. Hermione furrowed slightly, but did not say anything. Ron apparently decided to drop the whole thing, and told Harry.  
"Fine. Well, we'll leave your things here, and..."  
"No, we can talk in my room, Ron." said Ginny.  
Given their suprised look, Ginny apparently thought it necessary to explain.  
"Well, I'd rather discuss private matters in my own room, rather than in my brother's."  
Hermione nodded at this, and Ron had to agree. He'd done the same.  
Harry looked at both Weasleys, then Hermione. Feeling that everyone in the room has agreed, Harry told Ginny, "OK, whenever you're ready."

* * *

_"Muffiato"_

Harry muttered. Ginny already knew of this spell, as they have used this on several occasions when they were dating in empty classrooms to get away from Filch and company. This ensures privacy of their conversation, and Ginny realized that Harry wanted this to be just between the two of them. All of a sudden, she was not sure if she should be angry at him for the 'breakup' or even if she should bring it up again. Harry was considering how to say things in order, when Ginny broke the silence by calling his name tentatively.

"Harry?"

Her eyes were filled with something ... compassion? concern? He felt his heart beating picking up its speed. Trying to calm down, he started. He had to be blunt to her, and had no intention of leaving out anything, if she wanted to know. In the first week after the train ride, he came to terms with himself regarding safety issues of people close to him.

"Well, I think I have to tell you what we've been up to first."  
"Okay," Ginny decided to let Harry go his way for now. "I'm all ears."  
"As you might suspect already, we are planning of something other than going back to our seventh year, even if the school reopens. It is for something Dumbledore and I started in the past year, and needs to be done at any cost in order for us to survive. If I tell you our plan though, there is no way of backing out, and you will have no choice but to face any danger that may arise with us. Are you with me so far?"

At this, Ginny simply nodded. She did suspect this, from the look of him when they talked at the funeral of Dumbledore.  
"I said, last time, that we could no longer keep this up. But the fact is, I cannot keep you out of my mind. I think about you all the time, and care about you too much." Ginny's face became considerably softened at this.  
"I guess I'm not strong enough as I thought I was."

Harry sighed, and Ginny tried to protest at this, but he held his hand up to stop her from interrupting him. Reluctantly, she nodded, and waited for him to continue, deciding that she will have a turn to voice her opinion on this.  
"This can actually backfire on both of us, and ... well, I thought it best to be honest with you, put everything possible on the table, and discuss with you first, before actually making our plan further. I've been thinking all through ever since we parted, and realized I have no right to make this decision without you. You need to make your own decision about this, not me, or your brother, or your parents."

She did not say anything, but gestured him to go on.  
"You see, even if we are no longer seeing each other, I think Voldemort already knows you and I were going out, because of Malfoy... and Snape."  
"Yeah, I was going to say that, too."  
"Glad you noticed. Anyway, my first priority was, and still is, to ensure your safety, but I don't know where is safe now. Even Hogwarts was not immune to attack from Death Eaters! I'm pretty sure that your mom and dad are going to do their best for you, but... I will kill myself if you're attacked here while I'm gone, and cannot help you when you need me the most."

Her eyes were just twinkling with something bright, and said,  
"You do realize that I feel the same about you, don't you, Harry?"  
He stared into her eyes. Her eyes showed a glimpse of her... determination, courage, and love. There was sincere wish to help him. He could not help but notice how beautiful her eyes were, and had to break the eye contact, having felt drowned in her stare.  
"Er... yes, I do, I think... On the other hand, you're still not of age, and are not allowed to do magic outside of school ... unless of course if you're in danger." Harry remembered of this exception to the rule, as he was put on trial on this very matter a couple years ago, when he had to face two dementors with Dudley.

"You know, there is one more exception, Harry."  
This was unexpected.  
"Really?"  
"Yeah," said Ginny, looking serious.  
"What is it?"  
"That if the underaged is sixteen and is married. So if I am a married woman, then I am considered of age, and am allowed to use magic, after my birthday in about two months. Same thing for you. You're not technically of age yet, but if you do get married, you will be considered of age, even before your 17th birthday."

Harry was raking his hair with his right hand absentmindedly.  
"... Allow me to clarify. You are considered of age if you get married before seventeen, but you are not planning to. Am I correct? Although I will be more than happy to get ..."  
Suddenly realizing what he was about to say, he stopped with his heart thumping and his face turining red. Smiling warmly, and with glint of cheer, she said in quiet voice.  
"... You're right ... and wrong."  
"Meaning?"  
"You're right in that I will not marry a person just because I need to go help whatever you're planning to do, but you're wrong to assume that I am not ready for such a commitment. Also, it is not your weakness that you can love someone."

_Wow,_ thought Harry.  
Sure, he did feel and know Ginny would be the only girl for him, now and forever, even though they were only sixteen and fifteen. He simply did not think about marriage yet, primarily because of the current state of warfare, and felt his safety was so uncertain that he'd ask Ginny after everything was over.

"... Just out of curiosity, why are you gaping at me?"  
There was a tone of amusement in her voice.  
Quickly, Harry composed of himself.  
"Gin, I hope I'm making this clear. Both choices will have its pros and cons, and I just cannot tell for sure which would be better for you because of dangers involved in any case, though it is probably safer with your parents close to you."  
"But my dad's always at work, and mom has never been a fighter."  
Her voice was strangely quiet, as if to say something else.  
Harry looked into her eyes, trying to read what she was really trying to say.  
"You already spoke with your parents."  
This was a statement, rather than a question.  
Ginny nodded.  
"What did they think?"  
"Of me going with you lot? Mum did not think it's a good idea."  
"Of course, she didn't."  
"But in the end, both mum and dad had to agree with me. Just like you said, there is no safe place any more, not even the Burrow nowadays. And, like you, I cannot bear to just sit and wait for you to come back, thinking that you're in danger, and me protected as a little child, when I know I can help."

Ginny had this determined look, just as when they kissed the first time after the Quidditch game, and at the Dumbledore's funeral. It only showed how she was: determined, strong-willed, courageous, and caring. _'She never ceases to amaze me,'_ Harry felt in awe.  
"You are the best in your year, and I know what you are capable of, but that was exactly why I felt you may need to be with your mum."  
Taken aback, she looked at Harry somewhat dumbfounded. Maybe it was his sincere tone, or honesty that she could hear in his voice, that calmed down her immediate reaction of revolt. Harry continued at the confused look of Ginny.  
"You said yourself that Mrs. Weasley was never a fighter, and I have to agree... I thought you'd not feel comfortable leaving your parents to themselves..."

He could remember vividly of Molly Weasley sobbing at the sight of a boggart taking a shape of Ron's corpse. He did not confide this incident with others. At the time, Remus Lupin was the one banishing the boggart, with one loook realizing what was happening.  
"You know fully well that my parents are responsible adults, Harry. Besides, they are members of the Order, and that should tell you something, shouldn' it?"  
"I know that. I'm talking about how you'd feel about leaving them to themselves, and if something did happen to them."  
"Oh... "  
She thought for a moment, then said.  
"I did talk with mom about the whole situation as we knew, though of course knowing nothing about what you three are planning to do. We knew that it had to be something important, and that was enough for me. Mum knew I would not change my mind, and that I have found my heart, where I belong."

Harry felt elated, and knew he had to confess.  
"So have I."  
Ginny's face lit up. Harry went on.  
"When I told you that we had to split, I lost the most important part of my heart. Fo the past couple weeks, I tried looking for it, then realized: I will never be complete without you... I love you. You are the only one."

It was spontaneous. He was not planning to say this to her yet. He knew he should not put any incentive on her before making decisions, and yet... Harry was not going to mess up their relationship. He knew he had to be honest with her. He knew he had to be open to her if she were to understand his reasoning.  
Without planning it, without comprehending themselves of what was happening, they were tightly embracing each other, and were kissing passionately.

It was Harry who pulled away first. Slightly dazed, and trying to catch his breath, he looked into her eyes. They were bright, and filled with love.  
"You see, it is your choice to come with us or to stay with your parents, and possibly continue your education at Hogwarts. I will honor your choice and we will plan as such."  
"Harry?"  
"Yeah?"  
"How does the Ministry even know if and when I use magic?"  
Harry thought for a moment. _'Yeah, how do they know?'_  
He was caught twice in the past: once by blowing up his not-so-related relative, and the other by turning away dementors. He was warned of underage use of magic once when he was actually not using it ... it was Dobby, but the Ministry did not know of difference who actually casted it. It was where that mattered. But then, when one of the Order members apparated in front of his backyard, there was no warning... Harry remembered his conversation with Dumbledore when he shared his knowledge leading to his theory of Horcruxes. They just saw the memory of Morfin at the time.

_"So if you're underage and you do magic inside an adult witch or wizard's house, the Ministry won't know?"  
"They will certainly be unable to tell who performed the magic...They rely on witch and wizard parents to enforce their offspring's obedience while within their walls."_

"I guess it has to do with where and when. When I was at the Dursleys, there was no magical kind around except for me, so when there was magic performed, the Ministry automatically assumed it was me, especially when the magic involved muggles."  
"So, if I use magic out of nowhere and if it does not involve muggles, then there is little chance of being caught?"  
"I have to assume so, though I won't know for sure. Of course, if they are to investigate, they only need to examine your wand."  
She knew of priori incantatem, and simply nodded, then said.  
"I'd rather know what is going on and be with you, than to stay here, waiting for you to come back. My parents are ... well, let's just say they are fully trained adults."

Harry stared at her for a few moments, then said. "You are sure of it, Gin?"  
She nodded. "You know I am, Harry James." There was a tone of finality in her, and Harry slowly nodded to her, amazed at her courage, though he knew he'd be lying if he was expecting anything else from her.  
"Well then. Here's what have been going on with me and Dumbledore," he began, recounting of the events he had told Ron and Hermione a few weeks ago.

After a while of silence that fell, Harry called.  
"Gin?"  
"Yes?"  
They were sitting side by side, with Harry's arm wrapping around her shoulders.  
"After all this Voldemort things are done, and if we both survive. Would you give me the honor of becoming my wife, and be together?"

Harry could hear her gasp. His own heart was thumping so hard and fast, he could swear he heard it aloud. She gently kissed him, smiling.  
"Yes, and it will be my honor."  
Ginny said, with her eyes locked in his. Tears threatening to fall, she continued. Her voice was slightly strained, and trembling.

"It is my wish that I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, be wedded to Harry James Potter, and will fight and live together, under any circumstances from now and into eternity. You are engraved in my soul, Harry."

He could not help it: He held her in a tight embrace, and replied.  
"It is my deepest wish and desire that I, Harry James Potter, be wedded to Ginevra Molly Weasley, and be together under any circumstances from now and forever. I really do believe we are meant to be together, Ginny."

For some reason, his voice was somewhat raspy even though he tried to maintain his usual tone as much as he could. And his lips met hers. When their lips met, an extraordinary sense of content and joy hit them like a lightening through their spine. Both Harry and Ginny just embraced each other, oblivious to what was happening around them. There was soft pearly glow around them, which began with their words and circled around the two. The glow then spread out in a ring from the two, though both Harry and Ginny were too preoccupied with themselves to recognize this magic.

When the magical moment has passed, Harry felt his sickeningly tight feeling in the chest was gone. He thought for a moment, then noticed. Somehow, he had summoned his small box Lupin gave him when they were at the Dursleys. It was his parents' rings, according to Lupin, who kept safe after Sirius had passed.  
"You know, I'm supposed to have a ring and stuff, but ..."  
"Oh, you prat! Of course you didn't have time to buy such a thing?"  
Giinny was practically laughing, though her eyes still filled with tear.  
"Right. Well, actually, I did receive this pair of rings from Lupin a couple weeks ago. They were my parents'."

He knelt on his left knee, and opened the box in front of her.  
"Thank you, Gin, for accepting me. Would you take this ring as my promise to you?"  
Although she was unable to contain her tear of joy any longer, her face was glowing. She nodded.  
Harry picked up the ring, and put it on into her left finger. Ginny then took the box, and nodded to him. Harry returned his nod, and let her put the other ring on his left finger. What he felt was something he never imagined. It was warmth, filling every bit of darkness inside him, and coolness that sharpened his mind at the same time. He noticed that the two rings had magically adjusted themselves to fit their fingers.

"As far as I'm concerned, we are married now."

His face was glowing, and Ginny has not seen him this happy for a long time.  
"Thank you for having me as part of your life, dearest." She quickly pecked his lip, and asked with a hint of apprehension.  
"Harry?"  
"Hmm?"  
"How do we explain this to my family?"  
She was raising her ring in front of him.  
"I don't think it's a good idea to show this, don't you think? At least, it's rather premature, you know?"  
"Well, these are enchanted rings. Lupin told me that no one but us can see them unless we want them to be seen. We could keep them in the box for a while longer, but..."  
"I don't think so." She said matter-of-factly.  
"Right. Well, just to be sure..."

He grabbed his wand, and casted a very complex charm on both. After that was done, Ginny looked at her hand in amazement: the ring was gone.  
"What did you do?" Trying to calm her, he held a parchment in front of her.  
"Read this, Gin"  
When she read, _'The ring is for Harry and Ginny,'_ and returned her gaze to her hand, she became visibly relaxed.  
"You did the Fidelius Charm."  
Harry nodded. That was something he was working on when he was at the Dursleys, before Ron and Hermione joined him. He was glad it was successful.

Inside the box was a small parchment describing charms placed on the rings.  
Deciding that the magic of the rings can wait for a while longer, Ginny asked.  
"Do you have any thoughts on wedding plan and so on, Harry?"  
"No, not a clue, but looking at this fiasco with Bill and Fleur, I'm not sure if I'd look forward to."

Giggling, Ginny said.  
"We won't need to go through that, you know?"  
"Why?"  
"We just go to the Ministry, turn in a notice, and it's done!"  
"Err... I don't think so, Gin. I want to see you in the best wedding robe and happy face, you're so beautiful that I'm sure you'd be fantastic."  
"Oh, Harry..." blushing, she was at a loss for words.  
"Though I agree that we don't have much time, so I guess we will settle for planning this wedding after the war is over, shall we?"  
"Deal," said Ginny, beaming.

Right now, Harry and Ginny were sure that they'd be able to face anything -- or anyone who would challenge them, together.

They were so lost to each other, that Harry and Ginny jumped, their hearts doing several flips, when they heard somewhat apologetic 'hem hem' at the door. It was Hermione.  
"Well, it's about time for dinner, you two. I knocked, but no one answered, and I did not hear anything, so..."  
She explained, and turned to leave, but Harry interrupted her.  
He muttered _'Finite Incantatem'_, then said, with Ginny still in his arms.  
"Sorry, we lost track of time. Is it already time for dinner?"  
"Yes, and you two need to come down soon."  
"Right."

The couple looked at themselves making sure both look decent and tidied up, then went out of the room, hand in hand.  
"So, you two are back together now?" asked Hermione knowingly.  
"Yes" said Harry and Ginny in unison, and smiled happily.  
"Oh, it's wonderful. I thought it was for the best to both of you anyway. You are so suited for each other. Did you notice there was some magical glow a few minutes ago from your room, Ginny? I was about to come up the stairs when I noticed your room was glowing. "  
"Really? I didn't notice anything like that. Did you, Harry?"  
"Nope... though I must admit I was... uh... rather preoccupied at times."  
Giggling, Hermione interrupted.  
"OK, I don't think I want to hear any further, Harry. Well, let me know of your plan later then?"  
"Yeah, we'll discuss after dinner, all four of us, OK?"  
"Sure."

* * *

When they came out of the staircase, Harry was surprised to see so many people at the table. But he was not expecting Professor - now Headmistress McGonagall waiting there, faintly smiling to four of them.  
_'No, not again?'_  
He groaned inside, sensing that what she might ask him... about what he and Dumbledore were doing. However, she did not say anything, and merely nodded to him when her eyes met with his.  
Dinner was splendid... as always have been by the hand of Mrs. Weasley.

When the dinner was done, however, McGonagall wasted no time and rose to her feet, surveying those at the table, and said curtly.  
"Now, may I have your attention?"  
Everybody stopped talking, and directed their heads to her.  
"Much to our dismay, I have to announce you all, that the Governors decided that Hogwarts will not open for the next year."  
At this, all of the faces jolted, with stunned expression.  
"As you are aware," she continued, not letting anybody interrupting her to finish.  
"We cannot make any students come back to school if they do not wish, especially after what happened this past year. Chances are that many of the parents will not wish their children to return to school anyway. However, we still feel that Hogwarts has been, and still is, the safest place on this planet, and if there is even a single student willing to return, we are more than willing to stay and teach as much as we can."  
There was hint of unmistakable determination in her. _This is her way of fighting Voldemort,_ Harry realized.

"Also, due to the fact that we are now in warfare, the Ministry has decided that underaged should not be punished for using magic especially if the school does not reopen for the next year. This is to protect underage wizards and witches from hesitating when split second decision can cost their lives, and by no means to encourage people to use magic for some pranks. The decree should be out by this evening."  
There were many nods at these words at the table.  
_'The Ministry does not have enough resources for such things in this time of warfare, if truth be told.'_ Harry thought, and realized that Ginny could use magic for anything she saw fit, without worrying about the Ministry finding out.

Harry looked toward Ginny, who was sitting next to him. She smiled with a knowing look as if to say, _'There's no holding me back now, is there?'_ Harry smiled back to her.  
For some reason, he felt Headmistress McGonagall was eyeing him. Harry turned, looking outside the window, dare not to look at her. He knew he could not say anything until they discuss it over themselves.  
Outside the window, calm breeze was washing over the lawn, and Harry could make out a tree. Nothing was moving around outside, and he remembered that the Burrow was under the best protection the Ministry could provide at the moment.

"... Harry?" He quickly turned to the voice.  
"Yeah?" It was Ginny.  
"Headmistress was speaking to you, Harry." She whispered to him quickly.  
"Oh, sorry Professor... umm, Headmistress. Pardon me?"  
"Quite all right, Mr. Potter. I have a letter Albus left with me for you. Apparently, he was expecting his own end, as he left his will and everything."  
This was a shock to Harry. _'He was expecting his death?'_  
She continued. "You will need to read this in private, and meet me tomorrow afternoon in my office to discuss further. I do not know what it says, but his Will had included about this meeting with you after you read his letter, so I am doing as he wished. Mr. Weasley, you are expected as well. Arthur and Remus know of this already, and will escort you. Understood?"  
Slightly dazed, but determined to follow Dumbledore's request, Harry nodded, and received the letter. The Headmistress quickly whispered to him, adding that "Oh, and I like lemon drops, just as Albus did." He could not hide his grin, hearing this.

Silently, he went up the stairs to Ron's room. Making sure that no one has followed him, he closed the door and locked. Looking down the envelope, Harry recognized the handwriting as Dumbledore's, which addressed 'Harry Potter'. Trembling, he opened the letter, breaking the seal. Inside, he found a parchment with a key: a key that resembled one in another letter he got from Aunt Petunia the other day. He tucked it in his pocket, then started reading.

_ 'Harry,  
It is time that I part with you, and move on to my next stage of existance, if you are reading this. You know that all the protective measures I have undertaken will be gone shortly, but I am very pleased to say that you have become a wonderful man, ready to carry on with your fate. I must say, I am proud of you. I know I have set you on a path no one else can, and thought it best to give you some clue and last minute advise._

__

Remember your Patronus when you saved yourself and Sirius? It was far more powerful than anyone could normally produce. Your love for Sirius made it possible to turn away hundreds of dementors by a single Patronus -- You see, it is your love that enable you to amplify your magic beyond limits. As you may have learned by now, the Killing Curse is based on pure hatred. On the other hand, your spell, whatever it might be, when you're full of love toward someone special, your love will provide something that enables you to do no one else has been able to.

Therefore, it is my final advise for you, an old man to a man (yes, you're a man now!): Trust your heart, and do not turn away anyone close to you, especially the two you have been so inseparable of over the years. If I'm not much mistaken, you also have found your partner of your life, and you should know that it only occurs once in a lifetime. Do not let her slip away, as you and I both know you cannot live without her. You know whom I am talking about!

You will find a key with this letter. Take it to Headmistress McGonagall, and she will know what to do with it. You may discuss about our little adventure with her in her office, if you feel it needed. It is your call, Harry. It is now in your hand, not mine. I do warn you, however, that the less know about the journey, the better. Discuss among the four of you first who should know about what.

Now, I can see the four of you living happily for many years to come, so I am rest assured of your success in this War. I know you have been always loyal and true to me, and for that, I thank you. Believe me, it was my honor to know you, Harry. Take care, and I will be watching you with your parents and your godfather. Good luck.

Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore

Harry was not aware that he was crying openly, but feeling of content, sadness, and pride were mixed with something else -- maybe love? -- when there was a soft knock outside the door. _'FOUR of us, huh?'_ Harry thought. So he was right. Apparently, Dumbledore thought Ginny should not be left out, too. Suddenly more comfortable with his decisions, Harry called out,  
"Yes?"

It was Ginny.  
"May I come in?"  
Harry opened the door, and she slipped in, quietly closing the door behind her.  
As he watched her sit down next to him, Ginny noticed him crying but his eyes were bright.  
Concerned, she asked Harry, taking his hand with hers.  
"What did Dumbledore say to you?"  
He just handed the letter to her, so she can read it on her own.

There was another knock while Ginny was reading the letter.  
Harry asked. "Who is it?"  
"It's me, Ron ... and Hermione. Can we come in?"  
Harry opened the door, and closed once the two hurried in.  
"Where are the others?"  
"Fred and George had to go back to their shop. The others are in Order meeting with McGonagall, I reckon."  
"What? are we alone in this house, then?"  
"Oh no, Harry. Don't be silly! They'd not leave you without any protection, would they? They are in the kitchen downstairs. Remember that the Order has vacated Headquarters from the Grimauld Place? I think they are discussing about what next, as their leader is now gone. ... Anyways, "

Hermione changed her tone of voice a little, noticing Ginny and Harry are both full of tears.  
"What's wrong, Harry?"  
Ginny looked up at Harry, who nodded, and she gave the letter to Hermione, so both she and Ron can read it.


	3. Chapter 3 Conferences

**Harry Potter and Seekers of the Unknown **

**3. Conferences**

There was another knock on the door. 

"Yes?" Harry called. There was a momment of pause, then the knob turned. 

"Hey, Harry, mate! Hey, Hermione!" 

"Well, hello dear bro and sis." 

"How are you?" 

"We hear you were rather down..." 

"... so we thought it is our duty to cheer you up." 

Then the twins noticed tears on the four of them.  
In an instant, their grin was replaced with concern. 

"What's wrong?" 

Ginny answered for them. 

"Harry got a letter from Dumbledore. Apparently, he knew he was going to die." 

"WHAT!" 

Trying to calm down himself, Harry explained to the twins about the letter, leaving out things about horcruxes and Ginny. 

Fred and George sat down quetly with Harry in between, and put their arms around him encouragingly. This was the side of the twins which rarely show through, the side of caring big brothers that Ginny enjoyed from time to time. They are first and foremost a pair of mischievous pranksters, but they are her loving big brothers, too. 

Once everybody calmed down, Fred opened his mouth. 

"You know you can talk to us when you need us, right?" 

"And you know your secret is safe with us?" continued George. 

Harry looked up, briefly making an eyecontact with Ginny who nodded only slightly, then said. 

"Yeah, thanks." It was brief, but his words were filled with his appreciation. 

Then it occurred to him. Their innovation and inspirational approach to the war have been helping the Order. Maybe they could help with his ideas. 

"You know, George?" Harry started. 

"Yeah, mate?" 

"I was wondering about the Killing Curse." 

Fred and George looked at each other. George prompted Harry. 

"What about?" 

"There are two ways to survive it usually, right? -- dodging and getting some object in between." 

"Aside from the special case of you, yes." 

"Right. I've seen Dumbledore fight with Vodemort at the Department of Mysteries. He used statues in the line of the curse. The Killing Curse hit the statue, which exploded, but it effectively blocked from hitting me or Dumbledore. My point is this. Is it possible to make some sort of disposable shield for this purpose? I mean, if there is something light and small enough to be in a pocket, but becomes large enough instantly when activated and does block it as the statue did, it would be very handy in fighting against Death Eaters. It effectively renders the Killing Curse useless, you know?" 

Fred and George again looked at each other. Their faces spoke very clearly why they did not come up with such an idea. 

"Brilliant!" 

"Great, Harry! And yes, we do have some idea about that, now that you gave us the general idea..." 

"Your idea of portable shield is just we needed. In fact, we can have such a device ready in a week or so." 

"Of course, we'll need to verify, and test, but it should not take long..." 

"If you want, we'll start working on it!" 

Harry and Ginny immediately nodded. Hermione's expression was more of shock ... she could not believe why she did not think of it sooner. Ron said, "Yeah, that'll be great." 

"We'll let you know how much it costs you, Ronnikin," winked George. 

"You gonna charge me? I'm your brother!" 

"Of course you are. That's why we're selling it to you. We don't sell such things to general public, you know?" 

"... Whatever. Just get onto it, OK?" Ron's voice was rather weak, seemingly exhausted. 

The twins just laughed, and went out of the room. After they checked that no extendable ears were on the door, and were sure that the twins were out of earshot, Hermione got up, and replaced the privacy charm and several warding spells. She also made sure the door was locked. 

"I guess it's time we discuss, then." 

The three nodded, and Harry casted the _'Muffiato'_ over the four of them. Satisfied, Harry began. 

"First, I have to confess, Ron, that I just cannot be away from Ginny." 

Hermione just rolled her eyes, and Ginny beamed. 

Ron sighed. 

"I knew it, Harry. Well, it's up to you two what to do with Mum, though. I am going to stay out of it, alright?" 

"Fine. But have Mum OK'd for you to go, though?" Ginny countered. 

"Yeah, she knew I'd not change my mind after Hermione and I both went to her and explained. We didn't say anything about Horcruxes and all, but she understood, I think." 

"At least, since Hogwarts will be closed, I guess it's easier to convince your parents. But what do you think of McGonagall's comment?" Harry inquired. 

They thought for a moment. It was Ron who broke the brief silence. "You know, Harry?" 

"Yeah?" raising an eyebrow, Harry looked at him. 

"We may actually need to go back to Hogwarts to let Death Eaters know we are not going elsewhere." 

"Would it not put other students and teachers in danger though, I mean if there are other students" 

"Yes and no, I think. First, Hogwarts still is probably the most protected place there is. Now that the traitors are gone, there is no insiders negating those protective wards, so it should be safe. Even if they attack Hogwarts again, it is an excellent castle to defend. Second, we cannot risk letting them know we are onto something. Third, you know we need more information, and Hogwarts Library is a good resource, probably second only to the one in Ministry itself. You know we're not going there asking for info, right?" 

"That would be like advertising to Death Eaters and Voldemort... You're right. We need some sort of cover." 

"And finally, we need a base of operation," said Ron calmly. 

Other three looked at him quizzically. He continued. 

"Oh, come on, you all know too well we need an equivalent of the Headquarters! We need to have a place we can come back to, discuss things and rest. And you know it cannot be the Burrow. Nor the old Headquarters, since we all would not feel comfortable there, and because of liability caused by Kreacher and Snape. It has to be somewhere as safe as possible, and feel safe. Where else is safer than Hogwarts, especially if no traitors are inside it? I have a feeling that the Order is going to be based on there as well. Since the school does not open next year, it makes perfect sense to operate from there, even." 

Hermione added, digesting what Ron just said, "It makes sense... the advantage of Death Eaters have always been in their guerrila tactics. We never know where they will appear, and could not counter their attack effectively because we could not keep all the forces to one location quick enough. If we base on Hogwarts, and let them know Harry is there, they are bound to concentrate on attacking just one place, not everywhere else. The question is, is Hogwarts safe even under full attack of Death Eaters? Especially since we are gone elsewhere, I, for one, almost feel guilty if that happens without us being there. Don't you think we should at least tell McGonagall what we will be doing, then? I mean, if we are going back there but soon leave without letting anybody know, you know what will happen. Also, Ollivander's missing might mean Voldemort trying to do something about his wand, too. If so, when you end up being face to face with him, priori incantatem would not work then. And all the death eaters getting wands even after breaking out prisons, after their first wands were snapped. There would be more forces to fight against, if we are to defend in the castle." 

Harry and Ron all nodded in agreement, but Ginny interrupted. 

"No, he came back." 

"What?" The three voices came in harmony. Ginny chuckled. 

"You know, Ollivander. George told me the other day, that he was back at the shop as if nothing happened. Apparently, he was only away 'hunting' -- that's what he said, anyway. He needed certain magical things to make new wands or something." 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced each other, started speaking at once, then stopped. It was Hermione who continued. 

"He was not kidnapped, then? I mean, I know there was no disturbance in the shop when he was gone, but there was no ill-effects or anything? Was he not in hiding? and..." 

"Wow, slow down, Hermione. I don't know any detail about him, either. But, George said he was not any different from before, so I reckon he's OK." 

Harry spoke up. 

"Ginny, you told me your wand was a gift, and not your choosing, am I right?" 

"Right. Why?" 

"Why don't we stop by Ollivanders, and get you a new wand then? You know your magic improves when a wand chooses you, rather than when it is given. I know you're pretty good with your current wand, but it can improve, I think. Imagin that, guys. Her improved Bat-Bogey Hex! Scary, don't you think?" 

"Harry!" Ginny and Hermione both hit his arm playfully. 

"Well, you know it's better to have you own wand." 

"Of course it is, Harry, but do you think it's a good idea though? It is not safe to wander around nowadays." 

"Which is why we should go to the Diagon Alley together, possibly with an Order member or two, Hermione. Maybe the twins can help us." 

"True. Anything to improve our magic is good. Paying a visit to the Ollivanders sounds like a good idea," Ron said, before mumbling, "if we can pay," in a voice barely audible. 

Harry did not miss it. "Of course we can pay. Your parents don't need to, either. Ginny only needs it because of me. If not for me, she would not face this danger, so I'm paying." 

Ron and Ginny were about to argue, but Harry raised his hands. "Please let me do this for you, Ginny. It is the least I can do to improve your... no, OUR chance of survival." 

Ginny could not help but smile at this: 'our' chance. Ron was still not convinced, however. "How are you going to convince Mum? You know she's not going to agree with you about that" 

Harry smiled. "We need to go shopping for a lot of things anyway; you know, books, quills, potion supplies, the twins' products, etc. Ginny would have gone shopping with your parents for next year anyway, if the school were to open, so it's not like shopping is banned. Though Hogwarts closed, we still need to get things for the wedding, too. We don't need to talk about wand." Ron had to agree to his logic. 

"Speaking of Hogwarts," Hermione said thoughtfully, "do you think Voldemort was using the Vanishing Cabinet in his times at the Borgin and Burke?" 

Harry and Ron gasped. It would mean Tom Riddle had free access to Hogwarts even after his graduation for some time. Maybe it was Riddle who created the cabinet in the first place? The thought was scary, and no one mentioned it. Ron could not help but wonder how in the world Hermione would come up with such ideas... bizzarre, if anyone asks him, but brilliant nonetheless. 

"What do you think we should do about the Order of Phoenix, Harry?" 

After a few minutes, Ginny interrupted his thoughts quietly.  
She was looking at him with much concern in her voice. 

"If we are telling McGonagall, maybe we should tell Lupin and at least some of the Order members, don't you think? You know we cannot do everything on our own, and will need every help we can get. I wouldn't trust some of the members, of course, but..." 

Harry had to smile at this, fully understanding who she was referring to, but interrupted. 

"Gin, Dumbledore did not want me discuss this with none other that Ron and Hermione, I think there was a reason for it. I only included you as you're at my side... I still think we should not let any others in this though. The fewer numbers know about Horcruxes, the better." 

"Don't you think it's rather difficult not to tell McGonagall though, if we're asking her help" 

Ginny's point was valid, Harry had to agree. 

"I have another question, Harry." 

"Yeah, Gin?" 

"Remember you told me about your first year, when your Defense Against Dark Arts teacher turned out to be hosting Voldemort? Professor Quirrell right?" 

All three pairs of eyes were on her intently. 

"Do you know when he got possessed?" 

Harry and Ron appeared slightly confused, but Hermione was quick to pick up. 

"Right... Harry, didn't you say you met him in the Leaky Cauldron before the year began? Did you not shake hands?" 

Harry tried to recall... he did, and back then, he was fine touching him. Then, it meant... 

"I think we shook hands, so more than likely, he got posessed after that, then." Feeling awestruck, he looked back at his girlfriend. 

"You see, the diary tried to possess me, but not fully, thanks to you, Harry. Professor Quirrell was willing to be posessed, apparently, but that's not the point. It must have been another Horcrux that got activated." 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to gape at her. How could they have overlooked that? Even Dumbledore did not mention about this! 

"Wait, then it means, we have less Horcrux left to worry about. Come to think of it, don't you think the only reason why Voldemort was able to at least try to come back was because there was a Horcrux being activated every time? I mean, First, Quirrell. I remember being knocked down by some kind of wind that swept me through after his body disintegrated. Now I know that was the part of soul that was kept there." 

Ginny added, "Even before that, Harry. When the Killing Curse backfired, the main part of Voldemort' soul must have gone elsewhere to activate a Horcrux, later possessing Professor Quirrell." 

Ron continued, "Then after leaving Quirrell, the main portion went elsewhere, right? You told us Riddle in the Diary did not know a thing about anything happened since its creation initially, Harry. Since the Diary was different, it must have gone elsewhere... maybe Albania..." 

Hermione agreed. "Must have. Dumbledore did say that Voldemort was in Albania at the time of Chamber of Secret incident. So, the combined main portion and one Quirrel activated must have activated another when Quirrel died, later returning at the hand of Wormtail. I bet that's the one currently residing in the resurrected body." 

_'It was getting confusing,'_ Harry thought. 

"Wait, let me get this straight. We began with seven pieces of 'soulets', if you will... two were destroyed for sure, that are the Diary, and the Ring. The one in the current body is the main 'soulet' plus two ? Then we don't know if the Locket was destroyed, and we have Nagini... That means..." 

All four looked at each other, and mumbled in a faint voice together. 

"We only need to look for the Locket...?" 

There was a shocked silence. 

The first to gain her own voice back was Hermione. 

"I still think we need to confirm this theory, though. Nobody knows about how the Horcrux work for sure, right?" Other three nodded in agreement. 

"Then, I think we need to learn what may Quirrel have left in his posession, and such." 

Returning to Hogwarts was now a must. Harry suggested to run this theory by Dumbledore's Portrait, and everybody agreed, though Ron had to add, "... only if he's awake, of course." 

After a few minutes of silence, Hermione looked up. 

"Harry, about R.A.B. Do you think it's Sirius' brother" 

Stunned, Harry looked at her in amazement. 

Harry had to wonder why he had not thought of that before. Sirius did say his brother went on to become a Death Eater, but was killed by Voldemort later for some reason not exactly sure. Death Eaters were sent to kill him, but quite possibly they did not know why Regulus Black had to be killed... only Voldemort had to know why, and it must have been the Slytherin locket. They now have to make sure that the locket Horcrux was indeed destroyed. 

"I reckon we need to pay a visit to 12 Grimauld." 

"Yes, Ron, and I think I know where it is." 

"Hermione?" 

Her expression was quite unreadable, but her eyes showed she knew something. 

She remembered when they spend summer at the Headquarters, they cleaned up the house, and a lot of things from the shelves found their way into the trash bag. Among them was a locket no one was able to open... She thought; maybe, just maybe it was this locket then? Wonder if Sirius threw the bag away? Or is it possible Kreacher hid the bag in his place? 

"So, " Ron decided to sum up. 

"We'll ask McGonagall for help so we can make Hogwarts as our base and do a few research, including speaking to the portrait of Dumbledore. Maybe McGonagall's planning to use it as the Headquarters anyway." 

"You mean, for the Order?" 

"Yeah, it's only logical, Harry. The Ministry is in chaos to tell you the truth based on what Dad told me. I reckon temporarily moving in to Hogwarts for all involved would not be a bad idea... though that's something the Order would worry about." 

"I agree. You, Hermione?" 

"Yes. How about you, Ginny?" 

"I think so..." 

Ron interrupted. 

"I've been thinking of something else, too. Why do you reckon the Death Eaters did not attack on the train?" 

Harry, and Ginny exchanged looks. 

"What do you mean, Mate?" It was Harry who first spoke up. 

"It is only logical from strategic point of view, to strike and eliminate all the resistance hope after Dumbledore is ... you know?" Hesitant to finish the sentence, Ron lingered, but it was quite clear what he meant. Once the only wizard that Voldemort feared is gone, the next step would be to eliminate the last hope, Harry, so the entire wizarding community would bow to 'The Dark Lord. 

It was Hermione who answered. 

"Yes, and it would have happened, if not for Percy." 

"What?" Ron and Ginny shouted at the same time, then looked at each other. 

"I asked the same thing to your father earlier today, Ron. He explained to me. Percy Weasley got so concerned about the safety of all the students that he somehow recruited many aurors using some contacts in the Minsitry, and sort of 'leaked' the information to the Daily Prophet that many aurors would be standing by, both on the board and at the station, with license to kill any Death Eaters on the spot." At this point, her voice was shaky. 

There was awe on all four faces. _ 'License to Kill'_ ... it sounded shocking, though only fair at the time of warfare. 

Hermione continued, in a faint voice. 

"Of course, it was more or less just a bluff, as the Minister did not issue such license, but Percy apparently put enough information so that the population at large believed the news, causing some uproar from someone we know as Umbridge, but most felt it was necessary. It did not matter whether it was real or not, I guess, as it worked. The Death Eaters thought twice about attacking the Kings Cross Station, apparently, so that by the time they started doing anything, it was too late for them to do anything as they were outnumbered as well, and they retreated. A few Death Eaters were captured to tell the story with the use of Veritaserum." 

"Woa..." was the only comment Harry could say. Apparently, Ron was not the only strategic brain among Weasleys. His and Ginny's eyes met. 

"Well, I guess he is a Weasley, after all..." Harry mumbled. 

Ginny raised one of her eyebrows. 

He continued. "You know, who would have thought the rules-are-everything-Perfect-Prefect Percy would do such a thing? I mean, spreading a rumor about License to Kill? That's brilliant, and so like the Twins!" 

Ron and Ginny nodded. Hermione knew more about this, but remained silent. Percy did tried everything else to ensure their safety as well, making sure Tonks and Lupin were on the train, and other Order members were stationed close to the Weasleys, in addition to many Ministry aurors. Her parents were also protected with at least two aurors near them, in each direction. They were seriously considering to take a long vacation after that incident, and had agreed to help the wedding of Bill and Fleur. That was why the Grangers were staying at the Burrow currently. 

"All right. Tomorrow, Harry and I are to go to Hogwarts with Dad and Lupin. I'm guessing it would be by a Portkey, so maybe you two should come along with us, if you wanna see McGonagall, too. Maybe we could go shopping while we're at it." 

"Wait, Ron. Don't they need to help Mrs. Weasley getting the wedding things prepared?" 

Ron and Harry turned to Hermione and Ginny. The girls looked at each other. 

"Yeah... as much as I hate to admit, Mom will need a lot of help still, and the more the better" 

"But don't you think it sounds important? I mean, Mrs. Weasley would understand if..." 

Just then, Harry came up with a perfect solution. He canceled all the privacy and silencing charms. Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. Ginny started to say something, but stopped when she saw his eyes told her to stay. 

"Dobby?" 

There was a 'pop', and the house elf was bowing low in front of him. 

"Yes, Master Harry Potter, Sir. What can I do for you?" 

His features were just as Harry remembered last time he saw. He had his socks everywhere, and his big eyes filled with delight that Harry called upon him. Harry gave a puzzled look. 

"Umm... Dobby, why are you calling me 'Master'? You know you are a free elf, and currently working for Hogwarts." 

"Not any more, Sir. You see, Professor Dumbledore personally hired me and Winky, but he is no longer... he... " 

Suddenly, he was in full tears, and choked, losing his voice. 

"You mean, that you no longer work for Hogwarts?" 

Hermione asked him gently. 

"That doesn't mean I'm his master, though?" Harry shot back. Dobby regained his composure. 

"Well, I is wanting, Sir. I is wanting to serve you, the Great Wizard you are, sir, may not needing me, but..." 

"Dobby?" 

He slowly raised his head, and the large orb-like eyes met the green ones. 

"Yes, sir." 

"You want to work for me?" 

"YES!" 

"How about five Galleons a week, with holidays off?" 

Quickly composing himself, Dobby countered in all business tone. 

"No, sir. Too much! I is a free elf, but for you, I is wanting to be your house elf. It is my honor." 

"First of all, Dobby. I do not like slave labor, and want it to be a mutual consent if we are to agree. Then, how about same as in Hogwarts?" 

Hearing this, Hermione beamed. She now knew her idea of SPEW was not realistic, but felt there should be some other way. Harry, her best friend, may be taking the very step. 

"If you are to work for me, then you will work as a free elf, understood?" 

"Of course. You is too good to Dobby! Yes, Dobby will work for you with one Galleon a week as at the school." 

"Good, and I thank you for your help. How about Winky? Is she at Hogwarts, then?" 

The expression on Dobby changed so dramatically that Hermione almost started apologizing to him about asking something apparently so sensitive. Yet, Dobby collected himself before she said anything else, and answered. 

"I is sorry, Miss, but Winky is being ill." 

He then continued to explain that any disowned house elf would not live long due to shame and disregard for own health. Usually, such a house elf may live for about a year, if not able to find a new family to serve, though it was very unlikely to find one after disowned by a family. If a house elf was freed, like Dobby, on the other hand, there is no such ill effect. Dobby felt it would have to do with self esteem, rather than physical health, and did everything he could think of to help Winky. Although so far it only helped her live longer, Winky has been miserable, and continued to gradually decline in her condition despite of all the encouragement and help. 

"If Winky finds a family to serve, what happens then?" 

"She may be able to regain her health, if she is serving a wizarding family, I think, sir..." 

"Is Winky agreeing to serve a family then?" 

Dobby's eyes met a pair of green eyes again. He nodded meakly. 

"Can you call her here?" 

Dobby gasped, and after a moment, nodded vigorously. He snapped his left fingers, and was gone. It did not take a minute before he brought Winky with another _Crack_. 

Winky did not look good. Her brown eyes were full of sorrow, and her gait was unsteady. Sadly, Dobby stated she was not drinking Butterbeer any more, but being without a master for so long had been eating her up. She managed to go on because Dumbledore offered work at Hogwarts, but now that Dumbledore was gone, thus their contract was gone, Dobby informed Harry that she would not be long. 

Another discussion about house elf right and negotiation ensued, but Winky flatly refused to be paid, stating she did not want to be free. In fact, she wanted to be 'bound properly' to a family. After consulting Dobby, Harry decided Winky would need it if she was to survive. 

He looked at Winky and Dobby, then at Ginny, who quietly came to his side, and nodded. 

Harry asked Dobby. 

"Dobby, is there any ceremony required for the union of wizards and a house elf?" 

His eyes watered immediately, but his voice was steady and clear. "No, sir. You is just needing to raise your wand at Winky, and say your intention of uniting her to your family." 

Harry took Ginny's hand, and together, they raised their wands as in wizard's oath. 

Then, together, Harry and Ginny told her. 

"We would love to be your wizard and witch, Winky." 

Red light shot out of Ginny's wand, and green one from Harry's at these words. Then, blue light came out from Winky's body, colliding with the other two. When the three rays collided, they became one, but in rainbow. Once it became a sphere of rainbow, it encircled the three; a couple and a house elf. Then... it happened. There was what sounded like silver bells ringing in the distant as to celebrate a successful union, the room was filled with various colors of light, and the light converged on Winky. 

The effect was instantaneous. With a flash, there stood a proud house elf with Potter crest on her uniform as Potter's house elf. Her features were no longer shabby, and she bowed gracefully to her masters, all illnes gone. 

"I am honored to be your house elf, Master Harry Potter, Mistress Ginny." 

That stunned Ron and Hermione. With their mouths hanging open and eyes bulging out, Harry and Ginny decided to deal with the other couple later. They needed to tell their house elves instructions first. Surely, Ron and Hermione can wait a few minutes for an explanation. 

"Excellent. Now, Dobby, Winky, I currently reside with Weasleys, and do not have my own house. Until we have a house of our own to work, please stay at the Burrow and help Mrs. Weasley. In fact, I should let her know that you will be helping." 

Pulling out a quill, Harry quickly wrote a note to Mrs. Weasley, signed , and had Ginny sign below his signature. He then folded the note, and handed to Dobby. 

"Please deliver this to Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow, and help her, OK?" 

With a deep bow and a 'pop', the two happy house elves were gone. 

Harry then turned to Ron. "This way, Hermione and Ginny can come with us, and not worry about Mrs Weasley needing help. What do you think?" 

It was Hermione who recovered from the shock first. 

She repeated several incantations to restore privacy of the room quickly, and asked almost hesitantly. 

"... Did Winky just call you 'Mistress', Ginny?" 


	4. Chapter 4 Proposition

**4. The Proposition**

Harry turned to Hermione, then to Ginny, who nodded ever so slightly. She had a small smile on her lips as if to say, _'so much for our secret'_. He then looked at Ron, who still looked as dumbfounded as Hermione did. Harry shrugged, and said to Hermione. 

"You saw yourself both I and Ginny did the bonding, Hermione. Is it surprising Winky called Ginny 'Mistress'?" 

Hermione did not buy that, of course. "Hush, Harry! You know perfectly well what I wanted to ask. House elves do not bond with two people unless they are bonded to each other in marriage." 

Ron's jaw dropped. "You mean to tell me..." and he lost his voice. 

Hermione continued, "Yes, Ron. It means they have to be married to each other. So, when did that happen? Unless my mermory is failing me, I recall you two supposedly broke up until very recently. Tell us, Harry. What is going on?" 

Seeing that they are not going to drop the matter, Harry grabbed a parchment, and wrote a phrase on it. It puzzled Hermione until it hit her: _Fidelius Charm!_

"Ron, Hermione, look at this." 

After the two looked at the parchment, Harry burned it with nonverbal _'Incendio'_. A Gleam on his finger caught Hermione's eyes. She quickly grabbed his left hand, then Ginny's. "You got engaged?" she asked almost in awe. The couple nodded without a word, looking to see the other couple's reaction. 

"You did WHAT!?" 

Ron's face was scarlet. It was difficult to read whether he was angry, embarrassed, or surprised, though Harry figured he did not look happy. 

"Well, not officially, of course. We didn't have time to discuss with Dad and Mom, see? But, as far as we're concerned, we are." _'...as good as married,'_ Ginny continued silently. Harry just smiled at her. 

Hermione jumped into Ginny, "Oh, that's wonderful, Ginny!" 

Harry was just looking at his best mate, eye to eye, willing to take whatever blow he may throw at. He was surprised when Ron gave him a warm hug without a word. When the initial shock passed, he squeezed his arms tight, willing to give his sincere appreciation in return. After the embrace, Ron simply said, "Congratulations, Mate. You take good care of her, right?" Harry nodded seriously, "You know I will!" 

Ron then turned to hug his sister. Her face was growing with pure joy. "Congratulations, Ginny. You both deserve all the good things to come. Take good care of him, Sis." 

She choked, and could not contain her tears of joy, but managed to reply "Thank you." 

Hermione almost broke into tears hearing this. Yes, Ron finally grew up to be a sensitive, caring big brother, which Ginny desperately needed when other brothers were either overprotective, or rather estranged. She then noticed someone was tugging her robe, trying to get her attention. 

It was Harry, who then hugged her and whispered, "Thanks, Hermione. It means a lot to have your approval to us. You've been a great friend, a sister I never had." 

Now the dam had been broken. She could no longer contain her tears. Yes, of course he was her brother in her mind as well. Hermione took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Breaking the hug, she looked deeply into his green eyes, and managed a smile. "You're welcome, my dear brother." 

The next day was a busy affair for the couples. Harry and Ron had apparition test at 9 o'clock at the Ministry, and were accompanied by Arthur, Lupin, and Tonks. After declaring that the underage magic was now acceptable by law, Apparition test was offerred to those under 17 as well. Instead of waiting til July 31, Harry and Ron decided to take the test. Ginny, on the other hand, decided that she was not ready yet, as she never had officially been trained for apparition. She made Harry promise (and maybe Hermione, too) to teach her as soon as they were in training at Hogwarts this summer. 

Tonks decided to join Hermione and Ginny when the girls decided to tag along. Mrs. Weasley initially refused to let Ginny come with her brother, but relented when Arthur told her they were going to see McGonagall as soon as the Apparition tests were completed. 

Aside from the little incident that Ron almost did not wake up in time, they were able to complete the test without much fuss, and both Harry and Ron were now proud owners of Apparition License. 

. 

Once they were in Arthur's office, all seven grabbed hold of a baseball bat. 

"3... 2... 1... " 

Then the familiar uncomfortable sensation around the navel started. 

_'Merlin, I hate this feeling...'_ was the last thought Harry had before he was dropped onto a floor. He was not the only one tripped to the floor; in fact, the only ones who managed to keep standing posture were Arthur and Lupin. Chuckling that Tonks still managed to hit the floor, Lupin offered his hand to her. Harry helped Ginny up, while Ron and Hermione smiled to each other, and stood up quickly. 

Harry looked around. He recognized the Forbidden Forest and the Gate, then Hagrid grinning at him. 

"Hi, 'Arry. How ya doin?" 

"Good to see you, Hagrid. Ron and I got the Apparition License!" 

He beamed at Harry, and opened the Gate. 

"'Lo, Arthur, Lupin, ... and Tonks, How are y'all?" 

"We're good, Hagrid. You?" said Tonks having risen from the ground, and brushing the dust off of her robe. 

"'m good. 'Lo, girls!" 

"Hi, Hagrid," Hermione and Ginny trotted up behind Tonks. 

"I didn't really know ya all were comin' today... but no matter. Come in, you lot. Headmistress is waitin' for ya in 'er office. Go on, but see ya soon, OK?" 

"Alright, Hagrid. Thanks." The quartet chorused in unison, then headed up to the Castle. 

Arthur was going to accompany them, when Hagrid called to him, Remus, and Tonks, inviting them for a cup of tea. Deciding that the four teens should be safe in Hogwarts ground, Arthur nodded, and the three adults followed Hagrid to his hut. 

. 

McGonagall was waiting in the Headmistress' Office. When they were allowed in with the password 'lemon drops', Harry noticed the familiar stone basin with its runes and symbols carved around the edge sitting on the desk in front of her. Nodding slightly to the four, McGonagall motioned them to sit down. 

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Ms Granger, Ms Weasley. Good to see you, all of you." 

They nodded, but kept their mouth shut. Harry noticed that in the portrait, Albus Dumbledore was fast asleep, just as the last time he saw him there. Hermione started, "Well, we came with Harry, because..." 

"Oh, no need to explain now. As it happens, I have been planning to ask all of you in turn anyways. Maybe we can discuss together, instead of doing it individually." 

Sensing their curiosity mounting, she began. 

"First of all, Albus' will was read, and there are a few things he wanted to leave behind for each of you. I can send them to the Burrow for you, or keep them here for you to pick up later. However, I felt this one should be given in person, rather than sending by owl or by any other means." 

McGonagall pulled her wand, and tapped at the top of the drawer next to her desk. She silently casted some unlocking charm, and a box rose from the drawer. The box had some delicately designed creatures carved on its four sides and its lid. Its front end had a hole, undoubtedly for a key. McGonagall extended her left hand to Harry. "I believe you have a key left by Albus?" 

Harry suddenly remembered the key in the envelope of his letter, and pulled it out from his inner pocket. McGonagall inserted the key and turned, opened the box, then pulled out a stack of parchment loosely tied with a string. The corners of the parchment were rolled up, with some change in color, noted Hermione. 

"This was left to you, Mr. Potter." 

When he received the stack, he felt something ... electric shock? ... coursing through his spine, originating from the touch. It was gone before he knew it, but when he looked down at the parchment, it now had a note on top, stating _'CONFIDENTIAL - TO BE OPENED ONLY BY HARRY J. POTTER'_ in red. 

Harry hesitated. Would it be better to open here, or wait til he and others went back to the Burrow? They had agreed to talk to McGonagall about at least some of their plans, but going through all the documents given might take time. He decided that he'd read it when he had more time, and conjured an envelope. He put the stack in the envelope, shrunk it, then placed in his inner pocket. 

"I guess I'll leave reading this for another time. Was there anything else that you had to tell us, Professor?" 

"Yes, Mr. Potter. I would like to hear your plan. From what I learned from Remus, the three of you had a week together at Dursleys, discussing things rather quietly, I might add." 

McGonagall went on to explain that Dumbledore's portrait was discussing many things with her, including what he and Harry were doing on the day of Hogwarts attack by Death Eaters. Before Harry asked, she said, 

"No, not all members of the Order know about what you know, Mr. Potter. I know about the Horcruxes, but rest assured, that I agree with you it should not be made public knowledge. Alaster, Arthur, Tonks, and Remus are the only ones who know about this information." 

"So, what about my Mom? She does't know about anything, then?" 

"Not everything, Mr. Weasley. The only reasons why they know is for reasons that I will explain in a few minutes. Albus and I both agreed to restrict the information as much as possible, even if it meant hiding things from your mother. However, if you feel it necessary, it is up to you, Mr. Potter. As you may have noticed in the letter, Albus had made it very clear to me that you are now carrying the burden which belonged to him once before." 

Harry and Ron looked at each other, then the girls. They decided then and there that it would not hurt to tell her of their plan, since they were going to ask for help of McGonagall anyways. If Dumbledore told her already, then it was good enough for them to discuss everything. 

Ron began to explain. 

"Professor, we meant to ask you a favor... and ask your opinion; you, and hopefully Professor Dumbledore, about our theory." As they explained their thoughts, how they felt Horcruxes might have been 'used' already, McGonagall almost lost her usual calm demeanor, and interrupted, 

"Albus! I think you need to hear this!" 

There was an amused tone of unmistakable cheerful voice. 

"I've been awake, Minerva. It is most enlightening, Mr. Weasley. Please continue." 

When they were done explaining all their thoughts, Dumbledore in his portrait and McGonagall seemed lost in words. Apparently, this view was quite new to them, though it made sense, and was hard to argue against, even though she had to tell them that each of the supposedly 'used' Horcrux must be collected and evaluated to be sure of. 

"We thought as much. That's why we wanted to ask you if you know what happened to Quirrell's personal items, Professor," Harry said quietly. 

McGonagall thought for a moment. 

"I believe most of his personal belongings was supposedly sent to his closest relative... oh, wait, he did not have any relative. Let me see..." 

She quickly rose to her feet, and approached one of the drawers on the wall. 

After pulling out a file, apparently about the past professor, she looked up with stunned expression. 

"His things should still be in his old office, as all the professors since him did not use the room, refusing to use the same room as You-Know-Who. We were waiting for his relative to come forward, but apparently no one showed as of yet." 

Harry was stunned. He expected to look for his relatives or maybe opening a tomb, but things are much easier if everything was still here in the castle. 'Well, it makes things a lot easier, I suppose,' Harry thought, and asked her. 

"Is it possible to just go, and look now?" 

McGonagall looked at him, then at Dumbledore in his portrait. Dumbledore was smiling encouragingly, and she nodded to him. 

"Fine. I shall get the key, and accompany you to the office. I assume all of you want to come." 

Everyone nodded, and filed out of the office, following McGonagall. 

"Stuttering Fits" 

McGonagall called in front of a tapestry hang on the wall. 

_'That's the password?'_ Harry thought, and tried very hard to suppress laughter. He, Ron, and Hermione all looked at each other, and could barely contain laughter. Quirrell did stutter a lot, though he was faking to some extent, apparently to make sure he would not draw much attention, thus he would not be suspected of trying to ressurect Voldemort. It did work, as no one even suspected he was possessed until Harry fought face-to-face in front of the mirror of Erised in his first year. Harry quickly told Ginny how Quirrell used to stutter a lot. She quickly understood their amusement of the situation, and nodded, her eyes sparkling with mischievous grin. 

They were in a hallway they had never come across. A doorknob appeared, and they cautiously entered the office of late Professor Quirrell, using the key Mcgonagall brought. 

It was dark... there was no window apparently, and the air inside felt stagnant... indeed, the room had not been opened for the past five years. Usually, house elves take care of keeping room tidied up, and clean, but in this case, Quirrell had made it very clear that this room was to be off limit to any being, be it human or not. After all, this was the only room where he could speak with his master freely. 

Once they entered, however, the room was dimly lit automatically as if a switch had turned on. 

McGonagall waved her wand once, and the air in the room instantly became clear, all the strange odor and dusts gone. 

Harry looked around. 

There was mahogany desk with archaic design carvings with a tall chair. On the shelf, there were many books on dark arts, numerous dark detectors and instruments unknown to Harry. Stacks of parchment was piled on the desk, and a quill and an ink bottle was there, as if he left while working on a letter. Most of the books were worn, but one book was laid on the desk, open. 

Harry went to the desk, wondering what he was writing, but found there was not a sentence on the quill. The book laid there showed he must have been reading on uses of unicorn blood. 

Harry recalled Quirrell sipping the unicorn blood in the Forbidden Forest in order to sustain his master, then-frail Voldemort's life. 

Making sure that all the objects there were free of curses, they set to work on finding anything remarkable, specifically anything remotely resembled the known items used for the Horcruxes: Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, Salazaar Slytherin's locket, and anything of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Remembering how Dumbledore used his hand to detect any trace of Voldemort or residual of magic, Harry used his hands, concentrating on detecting any trace of magic on objects found in the room. 

The closet that still had professor robes and other robes turned out to be filled with magical items including dragon hide gloves, all sorts of amulets, magical compasses, and something Harry did not know what to make out of, though not anything resembling what they were looking for. None of them appeared to be of dark items to Harry... at least he could not detect any dark magic with them. The drawer and bookshelves had nothing remarkable as well. Even the desk drawers had nothing but quill and parchment. It did contain some letters addressed to Quirrell, but dated very old. When Harry unlocked a trunk placed under the desk, however, he gasped. Everyone instantly came to his side, trying to find out what he found. 

There it was, in front of the five pairs of eyes, almost glowing in the darkness of the trunk. 

McGonagall levitated it out of the trunk, and gently set it on the desk. 

A small, magical golden cup with two finely wrought handles, engraved with a badger... just as Harry saw it in the Pensieve, except there was a dark crack on one side of the cup. 

They have located the Hufflepuff's Cup. 

Even though it was tarnished with a crack, it still was a piece of art. Harry could see its beauty and elegance, feeling quite sad that it had been tampered with darkest of dark arts. 

"Is this the Hufflepuff's Cup?" 

"... Yeah, it sure looks like it, Ginny. I only looked at it in the Pensieve, but aside from the crack, it definitely looks like the one." Harry answered, though unsure himself if this is real or fake. He could feel residual magic from the cup making his scar tingle. Unconsciously, he rubbed it with his left hand. 

"Is it safe to touch? I mean, how could it be just there without any decent protection? It could well be a trap!" Hermione asked tentatively, her eyes wide with fear. 

"I don't think Quirrell knew what this really was. I mean, Voldemort does not trust anybody. He must have ordered to bring it along with Quirrell when he got control. I'm pretty sure Quirrell had no idea about Horcrux either. Maybe he knew this was his master's valuable, only he broken it or something..." Harry trailed. 

"Quite possibly so, Mr. Potter, but it is best to check it out for any curses or for presence of a Horcrux," McGonagall said, and performed a series of complex charms and spells on the object. Harry did not recognize many of the spells she performed, but it was clear to Harry that she was indeed checking to see if it was a Horcrux, or if there were any other curses. 

When there was no reaction to any of the spells she used, McGonagall decided it was at least safe to be taken out of the room. 

"_Accio,_ gloves." 

She summoned the dragon hide gloves that they found in the closet earlier. McGonagall was about to place her hands into the gloves, when Ron interrupted. 

"Professor, let me carry it. I reckon we might need your hands free of any artefacts, in case something go eery." 

Harry tried to persuade her into letting him do it instead, but Ron stopped him. 

"Mate, you know your scar may react, and that, we need to avoid at all cost. We cannot have V-- Voldemort know about this." 

Stuttering somewhat, yes, but this was the first time Ron had ever said the name. Hermione looked impressed, and Ginny smiled at her brother. 

Harry could only nod, and mumbled "Thanks, Mate." 

"Very well," McGonagall offered the gloves she'd summoned, then Ron carefully grabbed hold of the trunk, into which McGonagall tucked the Cup back. When they were leaving the room, Harry grabbed hold of the thick ancient-looking book that laid on the desk, shrunk, and put it in his pocket. It was titled _'Of Magical Creatures and Beings, An Expert Guide._

. 

The return to the Headmistress' Office was uneventful. There was no other professors in the corridor at the time, and there was no ghost passing their way, either. When they returned safely into the office, even McGonagall gave a sigh of relief, though she knew perfectly well that this was not done. 

"Albus!" she called. 

"Yes, Minerva," came the reply with a hint of inquiring. 

"We found a cup in the office. Take a look, as Harry reckons it is one." 

Dubledore stared. 

He was silent for a good five minutes before speaking again, almost whispering. 

"... Indeed." 

He looked lost in thought, while others waited patiently for him to continue. 

McGonagall was, however, the one who broke the silence. 

"Albus, I found no trace of curses nor evidence of this being a horcrux. I also detected, and I'm sure Harry agrees, that there was indeed some remnant of Tom Riddle's magical signature. There is this black crack in the middle, rendering it useless. It is quite unfortunate that such a historic treasure had been wasted so... disrespectfully." 

Dumbledore looked up, breaking his gaze on the cup. 

"Now Minerva, you know fully well it is matter of an opinion. Tom must have thought it most honorable to use it as his horcrux, though no one would agree with him, unless of course if you're a Death Eater." 

It was as if he was talking in his salon. He was so casual, so calm. 

Then, he sighed. 

"There is an old saying, 'At the foot of the candle it is dark'." 

McGonagall raised her eyebrow. 

"You know what I mean, Minerva. All these years, it was right underneath our eyes... only I did not know where to look, because it no longer was a Horcrux. However, this of course means that your theory now has some solid ground to back it up, Harry, Ginny, Mr. Weasley, Ms Granger." 

McGonagall looked back at her pupils. 

Dumbledore addressed the four, but was only looking at one in particular. 

His blue eyes met Harry's green. 

"Harry," Dumbledore called. 

"Yes, Professor." Harry looked straight at the blue eyes with his usual twinkling gone. 

"Please arm yourselves with more protection than your clothes and your wands. You need proper attire that can protect from minor hexes and curses. Some of the things aurors use can hide your true identity, even. I am certain Minerva and Tonks can help arranging for all four of you to obtain Concealment Cloaks at Madam Maulkin's. You may not golooking for other items before obtaining them. Do you agree, Harry?" 

He did not know what Concealment Cloak was, but agreed that they needed more protecting armor of sort for sure. "Yes, Professor," he replied. 

"Excellent. Now, if I'm not mistaken, Minerva has some other matter to discuss with you four. It was good to talk to you all." 

With that, Dumbledore closed his eyes, and before anyone could say a word back to him, he was sound asleep. 

. 

McGonagall led the others to a drawing room, and beckoned them to sit down. There was a sofa, a table, and two comfortable-looking chairs on the other side of the table. Ginny motioned Harry to sit down on a chair, and seated herself on his lap sideways. Ron hesitated, but Hermione dragged him to sit on the sofa with her. 

McGonagall sat down on the remaining chair with grace. She maintained her usual stern manner, but Harry noted that the corner of her lips gave out a smile. 

Having settled, she asked if they would like some drink. Harry and Ginny declined, and so did Ron after nudging from Hermione, who also declined promptly. This gave McGonagall to smile even more, but she was all business when she spoke again. 

"Now, since Hogwarts does not open for the next year, the Order of Phoenix has a proposal for all of you." 

All four stared at the professor. It was something they did not expect, but it may be something they would have asked for. McGonagall explained that it was about training the four and other willing students for the upcoming months, because the school does not reopen, and because Hogwarts still is the safest place. If they agree, they may start training both magically and physically, with NEWT material as a base, and continuing on to auror level... and maybe beyond that, even. They would be studying and practicing nonverbal spellcasting, healing skills, duelling, physical combat skills, flying lessons for survival, etc. Hermione was almost ecstatic at the prospect of more learning experience, and the other three perked up at the possibility of getting to fly, even if not for Quidditch. 

Harry looked at his girlfriend. Ron and Hermione exchanged one glance at each other, nodded, and were now looking at Harry. Ginny was grinning ear to ear. 

"Oh, Mom's gonna have a fit!" 

"Not if she, too is to be in Hogwarts," Harry calmly added. 

"What!?" 

"What do you mean?" 

Ron and Ginny asked simultaneously, while McGonagal nodded knowingly. 

"I think the Order is trying to gather all those willing into Hogwarts for obvious protection. Ron mentioned the other day that it's only logical from strategic standpoint, and I feel much better if your Mom and Dad are here, along with all the other Weasleys, your parents, Hermione, and whoever willing." 

McGonagall looked at Dumbledore in his portrait with new respect she felt. _'These four kids are quite something,'_ she thought, but was not surprised when she found Dumbledore, now awake again, staring back at her with his usual twinkling in his eyes as if to say _'I told you so.'_

After discussing among the four, Ron asked. 

"I do have a question, though, Professor." 

"Go on." 

"What does Voldemort want to accomplish? I mean, scaring people and causing chaos may have some merit, but only to an extent. I just think there're more to his scheme. If he is planning to take over as Minister, the only way would be to become a dictator, probably, but is that it? Or is he planning to do what Grindewald tried?" 

There was collective gasps from his friends, but he maintained his eye contact with McGonagall. Dumbledore answered from his portrait, surprising everyone but McGonagall. 

"Alas, I do not have any information nor insight about that, though it certainly is a good possibility. After all, all the terrorists and dictatorships have gone back to one goal, based solely on selfish desire. Any ideas, Minerva?" 

She shook her head slightly in a grim tone. "No, but we do have some evidence that Lord Voldemort is gaining much more support than anyone has anticipated." 

. 

A few minutes later, There was a knock, and McGonagall called "Come in." 

Alastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, and Remus Lupin walked in, then Arthur Weasley, who came in moments later. Tonks was beaming at the teenagers. 

"Wotcher, Harry!" 

Harry replied at the ever cheerful auror with her hair bubblegum pink. 

"Hey, Tonks. You're back from Hagrid's, Moony, Mr. Weasley." 

Remus and Arthur nodded to the four. Harry wondered if they were waiting for McGonagall to complete introducing them of the idea. They must have been waiting at the Hagrid's Hut, joined by Moody there, then walked up with pre-arranged timing. 

"How are you, Potter?" growled Moody. 

"I'm good, sir." 

Moody nodded, and kept guard at the door. Remus took over the discussion. 

"Good. So, you heard what we, as in Order of Phoenix, want to offer you lot?" 

The four teenagers nodded. 

"And you agreed?" 

They nodded again. 

"Good. Now, here's the plan. We should be moving in here as soon as possible, though probably after your brother's wedding." 

Ron and Ginny nodded. 

"You do need a few supplies, though. Harry, I think it is better for you to get all of the supplies you would need before you turn 17, while your mother's protection is still good. There are a lot of things, actually," and Remus listed things that they should get, including potion ingredients, magical protection gears, several books to study ('a cram course,' Tonks grinned; Ron winced), and brooms. 

Harry nodded, and told Remus that they wanted to go shopping, too, and asked if he and Tonks were willing to be their escorts. Remus and Tonks agreed, and Arthur simply nodded, but Moody declined, saying he had a prior engagement. 

McGonagall told Harry that they should stick together at all times, to be safe, and offerred. "I could obtain all the books necessary, and maybe a few more that I feel useful, though Ms Granger would kill everyone who try to deny her joy of sorting through books." 

Hermione blushed, but did not deny it. McGonagall smiled, and said "so, I will get potion supplies for all of you. All the required books are already here, and will be delivered to your quarters once you settle in here. You can still go to the bookstore, and look for any other books that might interest you, Ms Granger." 

Hermione beamed at this, and smiled at Headmistress. "Thank you, Professor." 

After going over their plan for the afternoon, Arthur contacted Bill via Floo, and told him that Harry was on his way to Gringotts. Bill replied that for some reason, Gringotts goblins were expecting Harry, and would meet him in a separate room to avoid long lines of customers. Harry looked puzzled, but was glad nonetheless that he didn't have to wait in the line for a long time: it would be a disaster if he was spotted by Death Eaters. Of course, if a reporter from _Daily Prophet_ or Minister Scrimgeur spotted him, it can be almost equally as bad for Harry... all he wanted was a quiet and quick visit. 

Once they arrived Gringotts, Bill and Fleur were waiting for them at the Bank Reception area. Recognizing his father, Bill approached them before any of them saw him. 

"Hi, Dad. I assume there was no incident?" 

"Right, Bill. Is the room ready?" 

Bill solemnly nodded, and led them to a small conference room. Before everyone seated, a goblin came in, and introduced himself as a bank manager. Bill added that he and the goblin worked together on many occasions, and in mutual respect and trust. 

"I am Garnod, and have worked with Mr. Weasley and Ms Delacor on several occasions with much satisfaction on our part. I understand that your law has changed so that underage restriction is lifted. Is that correct?" Everyone nodded. 

McGonagall spoke "Yes, you are correct, Garnod." 

Garnod nodded slightly, acknowledging her as Headmistress of Hogwarts, and continued, then looked straight at Harry. 

"Mr. Potter, we were expecting your call, and I, for one, am pleased to finally have met you." 

To the shock of Bill and Fleur, who know goblins well, Garnod came up closer, and bowed to Harry. 

Startled, but Harry returned the bow, trying to match the tone, "Pleasure is all mine, Manager Garnod." 

Bill nodded to him with another surprise but clearly satisfied that Harry was polite to the manager. 

Not many wizards would have, but Bill knew how important it was for goblins to be treated with respect. It clearly was the right thing to do, as Garnod's manner was not only formal, but with dignity and honor not usually seen on a day-to-day actiivities. 

"Please take your seat, Mr Potter. We acknowledge human law, but our law supercedes here at Gringotts. It only becomes significant in such time as today, when a wizard is still considered underage in human law, but is considered an adult in our eyes. Mr Potter, you are a sole heir of Potter Family, and is now considered of age to us, especially your late guardian, Professor Dumbledore has passed. Now, we have some private matters to discuss with you." 

Understanding where this was headed, Harry knew he was to discuss things with Garnod alone. He nodded, and told Arthur to go on to their respective vault. Bill nodded, and told the others to meet in this room after everyone's done. When all nodded in agreement, Bill and Fleur ushered everyone out of the room. 

Garnod, however, stopped Ginny from going with her father and brother. "Ms Ginevra Molly Weasley, please stay, as we do have some issue to discuss with you as well." 

At this, Arthur, Bill, and Ron looked puzzled, but Garnod did not give them any choice. Arthur felt he needed to stay to give her some support, but Bill stopped him, saying he trusts Garnod, and goblin's magic would not allow others to stay anyway. Hermione had some knowing look, and did not say a word. Ron looked at her quizzically, but she mouthed to him 'later,' and he shrugged. 

Once the others filed out, Garnod started. 

"Now, Mr. Potter, Ms Weasley, or shall we say Mrs. Potter?" 

Harry and Ginny gaped at the goblin. Before they were able to respond, Garnod continued. 

"Yes, we do see magical bonds, and recognize the one you share between the two of you is a very special one. I understand that you did not have marriage ceremony, and still maintain your maiden name, Ms Weasley, but to us magical beings, you are considered married. If you would rather be by yourself before we go any further in discussion, Mr. Potter, you may do so, however." 

Harry looked at Ginny, who looked back shyly. He smiled. 

"No, I'd rather have my wife with me." 

Ginny beamed, and kissed his cheek quickly. 

Garnod nodded, and addressed her, "Would you like to be called Mrs. Potter, then? We do honor our customer's opinion in this case." 

Ginny glanced at Harry briefly, before she said, "Yes, but only when no one is around us. There are formalities to be observed, and we'd like to keep this to ourselves... you included, of course, Manager Garnod." 

Harry asked, "Garnod, if I may?" 

"Yes, Mr. Potter." 

"I don't know any proper manners in your custom. I hope we're not offending you in any way?" 

"Certainly not, Mr. Potter. You have been very respectful to me, and I, for one, am very pleased to be of service to you. Not many wizards or witches care much about our custom, however... and you do remind me of Mrs. Lily Evans Potter, your mother. She used to pay close attention to observing our customs as well, and I am honored to work with you." 

Harry was shocked to hear about his mother in such an unexpected place. Ginny smiled; any good memory about Harry's family was good for the love of her life. He desperately needed it. 

"Now, as I was saying, you are now considered adult in our eyes, Mr. Potter, and so are you, Mrs. Potter, as you two are considered married. When a Potter heir comes of age, the Potter Vault changes its appearance to you when you visit. It has been in the 'trust fund' mode, where most of your vault has been hidden. Now that you're considered adult, and are a rightful heir of Potter line, you have full access to the entire Vault. Inside, you shall find an instruction explaining about the Vault, and other matters at hand. Your inheritance from Mr. Black and Mr. Dumbledore had been added into your Vault. Your Vault key was only for the 'trust fund mode', and is no longer necessary. The Vault will recognize you both, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. If you would like, I will have someonw escort you to your Vault." 

"What? Are you saying I have access to Harry's Vault? That is... " 

Ginny stopped. If she was indeed 'Mrs. Potter', then it is right that she has access, of course. 

Harry smiled at her. "Of course you have every right to have access to our Vault, Gin. I know you don't need it to like me, but..." 

Ginny slapped his arm playfully. "Oh, shut it, Harry. I do love you with or without the money!" 

Harry smiled, and turned to Garnod. 

"Yes, we'd like to visit the Vault, but may I ask a question?" 

"Certainly. What can I do for you, then, Mr. Potter?" 

"Is there something like a -- muggle credit card, checks or something similar? It is difficult to carry Galleons all the time, especially when we need to make a large purchase, you see?" 

Garnod nodded knowingly. 

"Of course, Mr. Potter. We carry both a credit card and an QuickAcess Wallet. The card is both magical and muggle, and includes function of a VISA platinum card in muggle world. Most of the shop at the Diagon Alley accepts the card now, and there is no annual fee. The QuickAcess Wallet looks just like an ordinary business wallet, except that it can withdraw money from your Vault directly. Just say the amount, and your hand will draw the exact amount, Galleon or muggle. You and your wife are the only ones the wallet will recognize, of course. It sells for twenty-five Galleons each." 

"Excellent, we will take both, one for each of us." 

"Harry, I don't need it! ... I don't think it's a good idea." 

"Yes, you do. You know we both will need to shop a lot today. If you want, you can keep them secret from everyone else, but I want you to have them." 

Ginny was not going to relent, until Harry pleaded "Please?" She sighed, and nodded finally. 

"Fine. But I will have to hide the card for the time being. It does say my married name, right?" 

"Of course, Mrs. Potter," confirmed Garnod, who then produced the wallets, and the cards. 

"Please sign the back of the card... yes, and tap with your wand once." 

When they tapped the respective card, the card automatically inscribed their respective name on the card, complete with their still photo image, used as security measures in muggle banks. 

"Excellent! You're all set, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. It has been wonderful meeting the two of you." 

"Thank you, Garnod. We are honored to have business with you." 

Garnod, Harry, and Ginny rose, and exchanged bow. 

When they went out to the reception area, Garnod called "Griphook! Please show Mr. Potter and Ms Weasley to the Vault." 

Harry grinned. 

"Do you know the goblin, Harry?" Ginny asked wondering why he was grinning. 

"Yeah, Griphook was the first goblin who took me to my Vault when Hagrid and I were here." 

. 

After exchanging another bow, Garnod parted, and Griphook took them to the cart area. 

There were many customers still waiting in line, but Griphook led them to the front of the line, and through a door that said _'Authorized Personnel Only'_. There were two carts, and no one was waiting. After a very bumpy ride, they were at the Vault. 

"Vault 687" Griphook announced. 

"Thank you, Griphook. It may take a while going through things in there, as this is my first time as heir of the house. Would you mind waiting, or is there a way to call?" 

Griphook looked surprised that he was addressed by name. 

"You remember me, Mr. Potter?" 

"Of course I do. You were nice to me last time." Harry shrugged. Ginny kept her mouth shut for the time being. 

"When your Vault door closes after you exit, it will notify me, but I have been cleared of other duties until you are done. I shall be waiting for you." 

"That is nice of you. Thank you, Griphook." 

With that, Harry and Ginny approached the Vault. There was no keyhole anymore, and the massive door gave many clicks, then slowly opened. 

What they saw inside literally took their breath away for a full minute. 

It was far larger than Harry remembered, and had three different areas. It appeared to be categorized into money, jewelry, and other things. 

However, the first thing they noted was a small round table in the middle, with a letter and a leather-bound heavy book on it. The table was made of oak, with Potter Crest engraved on the top. The four legs that supported the table had a small carving each. Taking a closer look, Harry noted that the carvings were of a griffin, a phoenix, a lion, and a lioness. He did not feel any magic emanating from these carvings, and decided to pay more attention to the instruction Garnod told of. It explained how to operate the Vault, how his parents' valuables were transported here magically at the time of their death, and then how to use the book of list -- it was charmed to enlist all of Potter Vault content, his earnings, houses, and their contents; it is updated magically and automatically, but it does not list people in the house. 

Next to the book was a pair of pens, with a note attached; _'Emergency Portkey to Potter Manor; for Potters only. To activate, tap with your wand, and state your name.'_ Without saying a word, Harry stored one in his pocket, handing another to Ginny. 

Then there was a small note from his mother to place the 'blank note' on this letter. 

Harry took out the envelope Aunt Petunia gave him, and pulled out the blank note. When he pulled out the note, he noted there was another small letter that he did not notice before, and a key. He would read the other letter later, Harry decided, and placed the blank note on the instruction letter. When he did, he and Ginny stared at the note in wonder, as letters started to appear on the blank surface; much as on the Marauder's Map, Harry noticed. It read _'Potter Residence is located at 1 Sunset St, Godric's Hollow.'_ When no more letters appeared, Harry tapped the note with his wand, and stated clearly "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." 

He was not surprised when the letters changed to state _'Mr. Prongs and Mrs. Emerald would like to congratulate you in your successful interpretation of this note,'_ and went blank. After a second, it changed into a map... very similar to the one of Hogwarts, but this was of Godric's Hollow, including Potter Manor. 

"Cool!" exclaimed Harry and Ginny, and grinned. 

Harry tapped the map again with his wand, stating "Mischief Managed," and the map disappeared. 

He carefully folded the map, and stored inside his cloak. 

"Shall we?" Harry offered his arm to Ginny, who smiled, and took with her own arm. 

After briefly reviewing the Vault, Harry and Ginny decided to look at them later, since others were waiting for them, and they had a lot planned for the afternoon. They would come back the next day or so. 

. 

Once outside the Vault, Harry quickly informed Griphook that they'd come back for closer look the next day, and in no time, they were back in the Conference Room that everybody else was now waitng. Harry was told to skip the usual line, and come directly to 'Business' counter instead. 

Arthur was going to ask Harry and Ginny a few things, but decided to wait til when they're back in the Burrow, and lead everyone out of the bank, to go shopping. 

Harry and Hermione had discussed earlier how to complete shopping done effectively; given the shopping list that the two couples had, there was no way they would complete it if the four of them were to go shopping together. Harry would take Ginny to Ollivander's, and magical trunk shop, then meet with them at Madam Maulkin's to order Concealment Cloak as Dumbledore had recommended. Ron and Hermione would go to the Magical Gears first, then Flourish and Blotts before meeting at Madam Maulkin's. They would buy protective gears such as dragon hide gloves and boots. Harry had given her a bag of Galleons to pay for the four of them, and she was going to pay for the extra books she might pick. Harry felt they might need more time as Hermione no doubt would want to take a close look at as many books as possible, but she would be the best among them to know which books are more useful to them for their quest and training. After a brief discussion in the Gringotts conference room, Arthur decided to accompany Ron and Hermione, while Remus and Tonks would accompany Harry and Ginny. Arthur was going to come with Harry and Ginny initially, though decided that two adults with the couple would be better, as they would be targeted more likely. 

. 

Once the other party was out of sight, Harry and Ginny went to the wandmaker's shop. Tonks looked puzzled. 

"Why are you going to Ollivander's?" 

"I heard Fred and George saying he was back in the shop, and Harry wanted to ask him a few questions, though I'm not sure what." 

Ginny replied, unfazed. Harry was secretly impressed with her ability to come up with convincing stories, not necesarily truth, but convincing enough... for the time being. 

Tonks looked at Harry, who did not reply, and just went into the shop. 

"Mr. Potter, it is good to see you." 

Ollivander was sitting at the desk in the shop, with stacks of wand boxes inside the room, and on the table was many parchments and some feathers, strings, and woods. Harry felt the magic concentrating in this room... almost as if this was entirely different time and space. 

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander. How are you? I heard you were away for some time?" 

"Yes, it is rather interesting story to tell, but for another time, Mr. Potter. Let's just say I've been better, but at least I am here... Ah, Ms. Weasley, I was wondering when you would come." 

His eyes were now on Ginny, with his usual eerie, moon-like eyes, which seemed to twinkle, as Dumbledore's used to. 

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander." She replied politely, still wondering why he'd wait for her to come. 

Catching on, Harry said, "You know, Mr. Ollivander, Ginny needs a new wand. Can she try some of your wands?" 

Ginny's face quickly snapped to Harry, who did not faze at all, as if to say _'I told you'_. Remus and Tonks looked at each other, and realizing that that was his intention from the beginning, just shrugged their shoulders. 

"Yes, Ms. Weasley, of course. Let's see... Please come closer, so I can measure." 

Harry remembered when he came here for the first time with Hagrid. Ollivander measured the length of his wand arm, and so many other things that he had no idea what to make out of their significance. After a series of Ginny's measurement, he handed her a wand to try. 

"Here, give it a wave." 

Ginny complied, but it shuttered a vase on the desk. 

"Apparently not," he muttered, and took out another box from the end of the shelf. 

Ginny tried again, and it worked somewhat better, though several drawers decided to come out of their resting place. After several wands, Ollivander handed her a wand that was set aside on the table, saying "Hazel, ten and a quarter inches, griffin feather as its core. It is flexible, but tough, and good for all-purpose use, but especially for charms and defense." 

When she grabbed the whitish wand, she felt warmth coursing through her body. Harry could almost feel aura emanating from Ginny and the wand. It was as if the wand was amplifying her magic. Ginny gave a small gasp, and looked at the wandmaker, who was looking at her, and Harry strangely. "It is quite extraordinary, Ms. Weasley, that you are destined for this wand... while Mr. Potter is for that particular wand." 

Looking at the puzzled couple and their chaperones, he continued with his eyes twinkling merrily. 

"About a couple of weeks ago, the phoenix that gave a feather to your wand, Mr. Potter, has appeared, and took me to a griffin. You see, Fawkes and I have gone trips to hunt and obtain magical objects on many occasions. Well, Fawkes knew this griffin for a long time, and apparently the griffin had agreed to offer his or her feather for me to use in a wand. It is quite extraordinary that your wand has a feather from this griffin, which apparently has decided to bond with Mr. Potter as its companion, whereas Fawkes apparently has chosen you, Ms. Weasley." 

Shocked, Harry and Ginny looked at the said creatures quietly sitting in front of them now. They did not see or hear two magical beasts appearing, in the room until then. Fawkes gave a quiet, short trill, calming everyone there. 

_Both a phoenix and a griffin were considered the most powerful magical beasts for the good. Furthermore, according to a legend, St. Patrick used a Hazel wand to drive the serpents out of Ireland,_ Tonks recalled. She looked at Remus, who smiled, and nodded as if he read her mind: these two would make an extraordinary couple. 

After a few seconds of looking into its eyes, Harry told the others that the griffin told him his name was 'Sol' in his brain. They then found out that griffins could apparate and disapparate just like a phoenix, and change its size at will. As companions, Harry could call Sol in his mind, and Ginny could call Fawkes. After a quick 'talk' with respective companion, Sol and Fawkes flamed to Hogwarts for the time being; they would have attracted too much attention in Diagon Alley. 

. 

Harry bought a special multi-compartment trunk much like Moody had. It was called Auror's Trunk, and Tonks placed an order for Harry. Harry chose one with 5 compartments, as 7 compartment model was custom made, and would take 3 to 4 weeks to complete, according to the shop owner. The model he purchased, on the other hand, had an added benefit where one of the compartments already furnished as an apartment with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, in addition to being sold as-is, fully completed and ready to go. He could literally live in the trunk for a period of time, if he needed to. Other compartments were also magically expandable though they were not as big as the 'apartment' compartment. The trunk itself had unbreakable charm and feather light charm built in, and could be shrunk without causing problems in its content if no one is inside: If any person is inside, the trunk simply would not respond to shrinking charm. The trunk was then keyed to Harry and Ginny, so no one else may use it. Remus and Tonks smiled to each other: it was just another thing for them to tease the teens later. 

Harry and Ginny went to Quality Quidditch Supplies, and bought five of last year's model of Firebolts, which were selling at a half price. The shopowner sold broom maintenance kits as well at a bargain of forty percent off the asking price with the deal. Harry put them in his new trunk, shrunk the trunk, then put it in his pocket. When asked, Harry explained to Remus that he'd hand them to Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna: he knew they are the closest to Harry, and therefore at greater risk. They needed as best protection and best tools to survive this battle. Although Ginny had known he was going to buy the brooms, she hugged her boyfriend anyway, showing her appreciation. 

When Harry, Ginny, Remus and Tonks arrived at Madam Maulkin's, the other three had not arrived yet, and decided to get started. Harry and Ron needed to be fitted for the wedding as well, whereas others already have fitted, and were to pick them up. Five minutes later, Arthur, Ron, and Hermione arrived, and the four teenagers were fitted for the Concealment Robes; the adults already knew Dumbledore had suggested, and Tonks, as an auror, assured Madam Maulkin that she would not get into trouble with selling them to these teens; of course, one of them being Harry Potter did help as well, as Madam Maulkin clearly saw why he might need such thing for his battle against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She told them the robes should be ready in a week for them to pick up, and explained what they do. Each of the Concealment Cloak came equipped with auto-sizing charm, cleaning charm, air-conditioning charm, and a weak notice-me-not charm. Also, when the hood was up, the face would be under its shadow, and its voice-changer would be activated automatically, which can be set to several pre-installed choices. Apparently, the voice changer was magically enhanced version of a muggle product, which Arthur took immense interest in. Harry paid for the robes, saying that Dumbledore had left him some money for this purpose, to which no one could object. Having completed their planned shoppings, and relieved that no trouble stopped their shoppings, they apparated to the Burrow. They were to get ready for the wedding, and needed to help with the last minute preparation. After all, the wedding was less than a week away. 

After the wedding went without incident, it was time for the Weasleys, Grangers, and Harry to move to Hogwarts. Dobby and Winky were very helpful in many ways,and the move went without much fuss. Each family was given a quarter within a castle, and the teens would stay in Gryffindor Tower. Harry already told Ron and Hermione of his trunk and knew they could have some privacy in the trunk if necessary, to discuss about Horcruxes and other sensitive issues that they could not share with others. Ginny had helped Harry pick mail-order muggle cloths, which were now in his trunk's apartment. He insisted she did the same, and there was a whole wardrobe for both in there; which, incidentally no one else knew. 

Once settled, they were led to the Room of Requirement. Inside the room was decorated similarly to when they had Dumbledore's Army training, though this time, there was a huge blac cubic box sitting in the middle, with its height close to about 3 meters. 

"Alastor, are you sure Potter is ready for the 'Cell'? You know he has not even completed his NEWT yet." said McGonagall hesitantly. 

"Yes. I have seen him fight. Based on that, and from what you've told me, he should be able to complete at least Level 'I' without much struggle." growled Moody. Tonks and McGonagall seemed impressed. 

"Er... What is this 'Cell', exactly?" asked Harry. It was Tonks who answered. 

"It's a training room enchanted for aurors so that we can train dueling based on our levels of training. You see, we don't want to hurt our fellow aurors, but it is imperative that we keep our skills up." 

"Oh, like a simulator, then?" Harry asked, remembering Dudley playing his PC game titled 'Flight Simulator. 

No one knew what a simulator was except Hermione, who was smiling at him. Realizing that this was a muggle thing, Harry just beckoned Tonks to go on, telling them that he got the idea. 

Basically, he learned that there were five levels with the 'Cell', though only four of them were for training usually. Only Dumbledore was able to do the last level without getting hurt in at least past fifty years, and most of the aurors have not even attempted to get to the level. Usually, the aurors were sent on a mission after completing at least the first three levels successfully. 

**The Cell for Auror training.**  
- F - Fundamental Level  
- B - Basic Auror Level  
- I - Intermediate Auror Level  
- A - Advanced Auror Level  
- X - eXellent Auror Level 

Aside from training in the 'Cell', they studied such subjects as Charms and Potions, Basic Healing, Herbology for Aurors, Flying with brooms, and Martial Arts. Tonks and Remus also taught them survival methods, such as camping out, hunting, distinguishing edible from inedible, swimming, and stealth movement. They would train to work individually and as a group. They would brew many useful potions from their own ingredients rather than buying from outside potion supplier: no one knew if any commercial potion was safe. Ron grumbled initially when they were told of potion making, but agreed quickly after Hermione whispered something into his ear. 

Harry was very quick in advancing the training. Ron and Hermione followed close behind him, but Ginny was catching up very quickly. Ginny did not have the strength and range of Ron or Harry, but made up more than enough with her agility and accuracy. Even Moody was impressed with her progress that he decided there was no need for handicap when she was assessed in comparison to other three. When Neville and Luna joined them a month later, Ginny had already caught up with the other three. 


	5. Chapter 5 Presentation

**Harry Potter and the Seekers of the Unknown**

**5. Presentation**

Besides the intense training in his summer project, Harry had a few other things in mind, to be completed preferably before his birthday. He knew Voldemort was not going to strike full force against him until his mother's protection was gone; Hermione was not convinced of the idea completely, but still agreed that it would be safer to go about before the birthday than after. The Concealment Cloaks they had ordered were ready by the end of June, and were picked up by Tonks and Remus, who then brought them to Hogwarts. Harry decided that it was time to visit his parents' resting place.

Visiting Godric's Hollow was an emotional ordeal for Harry.  
It was a place he did not remember at all except for the green light that encompassed everything there, but also where everything started. It was where Voldemort marked him as his equal. It was where his parents were so mercilessly taken away from him. It was where Voldemort was defeated by an infant, then-one-year-old Harry. Somehow, Harry knew he had to pay a visit there, no matter how silly it sounded. Since the house of Potter hide-out was destroyed, there might be nothing of value they would find, though visiting his parents' grave was something he just had to do... it was long overdue.

On their way to the Godric's Hollow in a ministry van, Lupin explained to them about the house. Tonks was driving the van, as she had a license as an auror.

"I knew the place, having been shown a parchment that stated the hideout. Well, of course I was not the only one who knew, but no more than ten. What we did not know was that the Secret Keeper was changed at the last minute.  
Anyways, I did some digging since, and this is what I came up with."

Lupin took a deep breath before continuing.  
"It was the Rat who notified Dumbledore about the death of James and Lily first."

There was a gasp: Hermione's eyes were wide open, filled with surprise... and understanding. All of them knew the Rat meant Peter Pettigrew, or Wormtail, and that Remus simply refused to speak his name now.

Lupin continued.

"Supposedly, the Rat was shaking all over when he told Dumbledore of their death. Dumbledore took Hagrid and the Rat to the house. Since the Fidelius Charm had to be lifted for the Ministry to certify the 'demise' of Voldemort, he canceled the charm with the help of the Secret Keeper, then sent the Rat to go back to the secret house. Of course, he did not go back; we now know he went to hide his master's wand. Dumbledore noticed Voldemort was 'dead', along with James and Lily. He instructed Hagrid to take Harry to Hogwarts for the time being, so he could make necessary arrangement. Dumbledore then notified the Ministry of Voldemort's fall, and arranged the burial of James and Lily. After the Ministry officials arrived, and taking care of the bodies of your parents, he left to place wards around Privet Drive, and stationed Arabella Figg in the neighborhood."

He paused, but seeing that others did not interrupt him, he went on.  
"What he didn't realize, was several Death Eaters apparently came after he left, and there was a huge battle between Ministry aurors and the Death Eaters looking for their master. In that process, the house was almost destroyed, but once they realized that their master was indeed 'dead', they quickly apparated out. This commotion of course attracted many local muggles and muggle authorities, and the remaining aurors had to deal with them."

Lupin took a deep breath, before continuing.

"The Obliviators were sent out, and placed wards around so muggles would not approach the house. It took Dumbledore only a day to arrange everything so that you will be safe with the help of an Ancient Magic that you all know. Arabella agreed to station nearby as a pair of eyes for the Order, and moved in, as there was a house for sale luckily at the time. In the meantime, Sirius ran into Hagrid, having noticed that the Rat was not in the hideout, and heard about the murder. He knew the Rat was to blame, and went after him, leaving the bike for Hagrid to use. The rest, you all know what happened."

After a few minutes of silence, Harry asked him.  
"So, what happened to the house, then? Did it collapse?"

Remus smiled, "Of course not."  
The car was now parking at a curbside of the street with a sign, 'Sunset Street'.

Gesturing out, Remus continued, "See for yourself, Harry."

Tonks was already out of the car, surveying the area.  
Having finished checking for safety, she was signaling them to come out. Harry went out of the back seat, held the door open, and gave a hand to Ginny. Ron simply came out of the car, ignoring Hermione's hopeful look, and called, "Hey, what are you waiting for? Come on!"  
Sighing, Hermione just came out of the car on her own, mumbling something about being a gentleman and manners. Ginny stifled a giggle hearing this, but did not say anything. Harry shrugged, and went to join the others.

He felt a ward when he approached them. _'This must be the ward on the house,'_ Harry noticed.  
In fact, he could count at least a dozen wards he could sense. It certainly was one of the most heavily warded house he knew, aside from the Burrow and the Sirius' house.

Hidden from a prying eyes by well-placed trees and gate, there was a passageway from the street.  
The street was in a quiet area of the small town, and no one was around that they could see.

"The gate will recognize you, Harry. It's charmed to allow none other after the Ministry workers left the scene. Dumbledore made sure of it."

Nodding to acknowledge him, Harry pushed the gate open, and led others in. Once they were inside the gate, he pulled the map of the Godric's Hollow, and tapped it with his wand, muttering the pass phrase "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."  
Lupin grinned, hearing this.

The map showed that they were in the entryway to 'Potter Residence.' After making sure that there were no other names on the map, he deactivated the map, and put in his pocket.

A few minutes of walk later, they were standing in front of a beautiful garden. Behind the garden they could see a two-story house. Harry could feel his chest tightening. He knew this was where they were on that fateful day. The house had to endure many curses and battles, but yet, still remained there erect, looking anew. It was as if the house was waiting for its master to return.

When he resumed walking the path, Harry ignored his eyes full of tears. Shakily, but with determined will, he approached the door. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, his eyes met a pair of tear-filled brown eyes of Ginny. He could see her understanding and love in the gaze, and without a word, they embraced each other briefly before they entered the house together.

Remus and Tonks decided to remain outside to stand guard, and Ron and Hermione went around the house, into the garden.

Thirty minutes later, Harry and Ginny came out of the house in awe, and joined Ron and Hermione in the backyard. There, they could see a pair of tombstones for James and Lily Potter. Remus had explained to them that there was a Potter Family cemetery in this backyard. This house had been where entire family used to gather many decades ago once a year for memorial.

Ron and Hermione solemnly gestured Harry to the tombstones without a word. Harry nodded, and proceeded there, with Ginny's hands gripping his left arm. On the stones, he could read his parents' names, followed by a simple phrase, **'Guardians of Love, Rest in Peace'**

Somewhere in the air, Harry could hear a sad phoenix song. He knelt down there, and whispered "Thank you, Dad, Mom."  
Unlike the time with Dumbledore's funeral, when he felt distant from the reality of it all, he broke down there, and cried. Without a word, Harry and Ginny were embracing each other, crying silently. Ron and Hermione hugged them quetly.

Harry did not know how long had it been like that, but when he finally regained his voice, he spoke to the stones again.  
"Dad, Mom, this is Ginny. She is my wife... well, fiancee, and I'm sure you are happy to see her. You saw my best friends Ron and Hermione before us, and Remus is waitiing outside. By the way, Remus has a girlfriend, you know. Surprised? We have a lot to catch up, but you know we are at war with Voldemort. I'll do my best... for you; for my friends; and for us. Please help us."

Ginny added, "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter... for saving Harry. I'll do my very best to continue your quest."

Ron and Hermione just nodded, as they did express their heart before Harry had arrived.

. . .

"Remus?"  
Tonks called from behind him, who was pacing around. He was getting somwhat nervous as time went by, worried that something happened to the teens, though he knew the wards would not have allowed other unwanted visitors in. When he looked at her, relief replaced his worry, though mixed with sadness and compassion for his best friend's son.  
Harry came back from his parents' grave with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. His eyes were red and swollen, but shone brightly with clear determination.

Harry Potter was definately ready for his tasks ahead.

. . .

When Harry retreated to his room that night, he thought about all the events leading up to this day, and he realized that he'd forgotten about receiving a letter from his aunt. It was in the envelope she gave Harry on the day he left Number 4 Privet Dr. for the last time. He could not bring himself to read her letter then, but was determined to get it over with, now that he had visited his parents' grave.

What he discovered in there was something totally unexpected; it explained why Petunia Dursley so despised magic.  
It was because her parents (and thus Harry's maternal grandparents) were attacked first by dementors, then by Death Eaters.

It explained that after Lily and James got married, and were away on honeymoon, Petunia felt chills despite being in summer at home. Then the dark figures roamed over the area of her parents' house, and one dementor managed to enter through the wards placed on the house somehow.  
The last thing she saw before Petunia got unconscious was the limp figures of her parents being kissed by the black cloaked figure.

When she woke up, she saw Lily totally broken down at their parents. Petunia then found out that Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius apparated into the mess, successfully chased them away with patronuses, saving Petunia, but the battle with Death Eaters ensued, and their house was burned down. During the fight, Death Eaters had managed to kill their parents who were already lay limp after the kiss.

_'.. Wise man once told me, that there comes a time when you must choose what is right, and what is easy. I made my choice when we took you in our roof. I know you have chosen your way, to bear the weight of the world as we know it._

_Good luck, and know that your parents would have been very proud of you. I know I am, and I am sorry for all that you had to endure in our care. For that, I apologize. Though I know Vernon would not care, I know that I let my sister down. Looking at how you became the young man that you are now, I am just glad that you grew up with good heart._

_Wishing you the best,  
Petunia Evans Dursley'_

From the next day on, Harry studied and trained with a new vigor. He also suggested to Hermione to look for ways to destroy dementors. As far as he was concerned, there should be no dementors left when everything was said and done.

. . .

Harry and Ginny went to the Potter Vault on two days after visiting the Godric's Hollow, accompanied again by Remus and Tonks as escorts. They would have visited earlier, but had to wait til after the wedding of Bill and Fleur so the chaperones were available. Remus and Tonks could not enter the Vault, according to the goblin who took them to the Potter Vault, and had to wait outside. Harry suggested they wait at the conference room they used once, and have some tea. The goblin agreed to have it prepared, and with stunned expression, Remus agreed. "'Strange, since when the goblins offer tea?" he asked Tonks, but of course, she did not know the answer either.

Since Harry and Ginny now own the QuickAcess Wallet, they decided to forgo money, and went to the 'other' area first.

In the 'Other' area, there were many family portraits, robes and dress robes, other clothes and artefacts they did not know, and weapons. Many of the portraits would wave to them with warm smile; Harry found out that they were placed on the wall inside the Vault in chronological order, apparently. He was curious to see if his parents' were there, too, though one of the portraits told him that James and Lily's were at the Potter Manor, and not in here, then added that they all had one in the Manor, too. When they looked at the portrait frame toward the end of the row, sure enough, there was no one in the portrait. Harry thanked the portrait, and told him they would be visiting the Manor soon.

The portrait, who introduced himself as Michael Potter, great - many times - grandfather, corrected Harry,  
"Not visiting, Harry; you're going back HOME to the Manor, and make it sooner than later, OK?"  
Harry considered him for a few seconds, and said, "Yes, grandad." Michael Potter's stern face softened, and nodded approvingly.

Harry and Ginny continued their survey of the room.  
The item that drew Harry's attention the most was two sets of jackets and two pairs of pants neatly folded inside a drawer labeled 'Graphorn Hide Set'.  
Ginny's eyes bulged with surprise and excitement: graphorn hide was supposed to be even tougher than dragon's, and able to repel minor to moderate spells and hexes.

But even more astonishing item than those sets of protective garments was found in the next drawer --a pair of wrist bands with an image of phoenix in the middle. Harry thought it was made of brass, but when Ginny saw it, she gasped.

"Ginny, what's wrong?"

"Harry... don't you know what THAT is? I mean, I've never seen one myself, but it is noted in every book you can find on defense!"

Looking confused, Harry asked. "You mean, it's not brass?"

Recognizing that he really did not know about this, Ginny shook her head slightly, as if to say she could not believe how Harry, of all people, did not recognize something so special as this. But then, Harry himself was very special to everyone but Harry himself, and had some annoying tendency to overlook the very obvious.

After taking a few calming breaths, Ginny explained, in awed voice.  
"No. It is widely believed as brass in muggle world, only not true. In magical world, oreichalkos is the most valuable metal because it is believed to be virtually indestructible, even with the Killing Curse, and surprisingly light. Since the metal is lost when Atlantis was, only a few real oreichalkos artefacts remain... in fact, I'm pretty sure this is the last pair to my knowledge."

When Harry picked it up, he felt an electric jolt coursing through his fingers, arm, and to head, then noted a parchment underneath it. It read:  
_'This is the **Shield of Oreicchalkos**, which belong only to Master and Mistress Potter for many generations. It will recognize the user's magical signature, and no one else is able to use it -- it will simply vanish from others' hands, and go to the rightful owner. The wearer will not feel its weight, and it will shield the wearer from any heat or cold, any hexes or curses, and from any harm. It will attach itself on the wearer's wandless wrist, and disappear until it is called for use. One may only will it to appear when needed, and an invisible energy field will act as first defense around the wearer, and the shield itself will appear on the wearer's wandless hand, as second defense.  
Although it is believed to shield even from the Killing Curse, no one has tested it: It is uncertain if the Shield still is fully functional after being hit with such extreme curse, and you are advised not to expose it to the Killing Curse'._

Harry looked at Ginny, and motioned for her to grab it. Ginny hesitated, and told Harry, "I don't know, Harry... this is too prescious, you know... "  
He would have none of that, however. "What do you mean it's too prescious!? It is only a tool; very rare, I agree, but there is only one Ginny Weasley-Potter, too. So, Love, it is a tool for you, and let's just make the very best out of it."

Something caught their eyes on the parchment. It was writing a new line.  
Harry and Ginny looked at the parchment. It now read: _'Please take one, and place it on the wrist of your wandless arm, Master and Mistress Potter, and claim it as yours'_

Without saying another word, Harry handed one to Ginny, and placed another on his left wrist.  
They read it out in unison; "As rightful heir to Ancient House of Potter, we, Harry and Ginny Potter claim you as ours."

Once it was placed properly, it growed in faint blue, then disappeared, as if it was absorbed into his skin, but when Harry willed it to appear, he was holding it on his left hand. After making it appear and disappear a few more times, Harry and Ginny decided to explore more items stored in the Vault.

. . .

Harry's birthday came. While everyone was preparing for the party that night, Harry and Ginny took their PortKey to go to the Potter Manor. After meeting with the family house elf, Danny, and checking the security wards, the couple returned to Hogwarts, and took Bill and Remus back to the Manor. Remus knew the place well, and as a curse breaker, Bill was able to check its security system better than Harry could. Once satisfied, they decided to move the party to the Manor instead of the Hogwarts Great Hall.

It was the day the master of the house returned to the Manor, and Harry just had to be there, even if he was to return to Hogwarts after the party. In the Grand Ball Room, there was a large family portrait of his parents with himself, only an infant. Harry spent a long time looking at the portrait, and speaking with his parents there.

After a while, Danny, the house elf, politely requested Harry to claim the Manor as his own by a simple ritual. He thought about it, and decided that Ginny should wait to claim until their own wedding, mostly for her mom's sake. There was a small table underneath the Potter Family portrait in the Grand Ball Room of the Manor. On the table, Harry found a small limestone with an indentation at its center. He placed his knuckle over the stone so that his ring would fit into the limestone, and recited  
"I, Harry James Potter, hereby declare that I am the rightful heir and owner of Potter Manor." There was a faint blue glow on the stone briefly, and returned to original color.

When it was done, Ginny gasped. Harry raised his eyes, and found Ginny gazing at the family portrait. It was his turn to gasp: The portrait was now changed from his parents into Harry by himself.

Danny explained that the portrait was charmed to show only the current owner of the Manor. All previous portraits would be then moved magically to a different room: _'Room of History'_, it is called. The Harry in the portrait noted Ginny, and gave a bow, then threw a kiss. The real Harry glared, and Ginny was giggling.

Danny quietly stated bowing deeply, "Welcome back to the Potter Manor, Master Harry."

Harry could not help but notice Danny to be a very old house elf, and asked if he would like some help from other house elves. After explaining about Dobby and Winky, Danny nodded that he was aware of Winky, as Harry had accepted her into Potter line, and said he would be delighted to have assistants.

Then Danny continued, "Master Harry, Danny is protecting things for you, from Master James and Mistress Lily. They were charmed to appear in my care as soon as My Master and Mistress had to go on to the ... next... "

Danny's large eyes were suddenly filled with tears, and he sobbed, unable to continue. Harry kneeled in front of the house elf, and gently put his hands on the shoulders.  
"Sh... I know you're a good elf, and kept things for me. What is it that you kept protected for the past sixteen years?"

After a minute of sobbing, Danny collected himself, and said.  
"Master Harry is too kind to Danny... Yes, Master Harry, Danny keeps your mother's diary and your father's box. Would you like Danny to give them to you?"

Harry nodded numbly.  
Ginny placed her hand on his shoulder.  
Harry looked stunned. His parents left some things for him!

With a 'pop', Danny reappeared, and handed him a book and a box with a broad smile.  
"Danny has kept them safe, and is glad to return them to you, Master Harry."

Harry thanked the house elf, and placed the diary and the box in his trunk that he pulled out of his robe. After the trunk was closed, he quickly shrunk it, and place in his robe pocket. Reading the diary and checking what his father left him in the box would be very important to Harry, but for now, it was time for the birthday party.

. . .

During the party, Harry took Arthur and Molly aside for a few minutes. Ginny caught him before then, and followed them. Ron and Hermione were dancing at the time, and other Weasleys were too caught up in teasing the couple that did not notice Harry slipping away with Ginny and her parents.

Once seated in a room with some privacy, Harry brought a note out of his robe, and showed it to Arthur and Molly.  
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I love your daughter very much, and ... and... could we have your blessing in our relationship? I mean..."

Harry's face was turning scarlet by each second. Ginny squeezed his hands reassuringly.  
Arthur and Molly did not say anything. They looked at each other, then turned their gaze into Harry's eyes, then Ginny.  
Taking a deep breath, Harry spoke again.  
"I know we are still young, but we know we love each other. I asked Ginny to marry me the other day, and..."  
"... And I said yes!" Ginny supplied enthusiastically.

Her parents still did not open their mouths.  
"Would you please give us your blessing?"  
Arthur and Molly did not say anything for a minute, looking at each other. When Harry began figdgeting his fingers nervously, Arthur gave a chuckle, and asked.  
"Are you planning on your wedding soon, then?"

Ginny smiled.  
"Anytime is good for me, except that..."  
"There is this evil force that we need to take into account. After all, Voldemort is coming after me now that I am of age, and..."

The parents' face paled. Being Harry's wife would mean that Ginny would become number one target for the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters. Of course, they have always been a target, but this?

After a few minutes of silence, Harry gulped, and continued.  
"I understand. That was why I tried breaking up with Ginny after Dumbledore's funeral."  
"WHAT!?" The response from her parents were immediate, effectively breaking them out of their trance.

Ginny explained to them of the situation quickly.  
"Harry thought breaking up with me would protect me for some stupid noble reason, but he saw the light, and understood that is not the case."

Arthur nodded, stopping Molly from saying something in a huff.  
"Well, our family has always been against his cause, thus the title 'blood traitors'. Even without you, Harry, Ginny would still be a target. And if you love each other, there is no way you could hide that from people for long. You should not be letting them affect your relationship. That said, I ask you again, when are you planning to announce to others of your engagement, and when do you plan to marry?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, then Ginny answered.  
"I thought it best to announce after my birthday, but with the war going on and everything, we figured we'd wait til the war is over to have the ceremony." Harry only nodded.  
Arthur and Molly again glanced at each other.

It was Molly who spoke next.  
"I see. We've known for ages that this would come up at some point. It's just we did not expect it to come so early, though we understand; it's so obvious that you do love each other. You have our blessing in your relationship, and you know we are with you about this war, Harry dear. But let us ponder this a little while, just Arthur and I, and get back to you tomorrow, OK? We do need some time to discuss things, especially something like this wonderful and important! Now, you do need to get back to the party!"

She had broad smile on her face, but her eyes had some hint of sadness and anxiety. Nonetheless, Ginny was happy that they did not object to the idea at all, and gave her parents a big hug of appreciation. Harry shook hands with Arthur, and received her big hug after receiving a warning with smile, "You know how to treat her, right? We know, just checking."

. . .

Meanwhile, the Privet Drive house was attacked as predicted, and the Death Eaters were ambushed by aurors. Dursleys were on vacation, as Petunia promised Harry, and were safe, though the house was destroyed. They had the house under insurance, and was able to rebuild, though had to live in a hotel for some time when they returned two weeks later.

. . .

On August 11, Ginny went to the Ministry with several escorts, and passed her Apparition test. When she returned to Hogwarts, she found everyone waiting in the Great Hall, decorated specifically for the occasion of her birthday. Many congratulatory remarks, delicious foods, and dances with Harry later, she found herself sitting next to Harry at the center of the stage.

"Picture time!" someone yelled, and people gathered around the stage.  
Remus took a picture of the couple first, with all the Weasleys, then with school mates.

After a few photos taken with entire group gathered around Ginny, all went back to their respective table.  
At that time, Ron and Hermione stayed with them, and whispered to Ginny "Are you ready?"  
She nodded enthusiastically, her eyes gleamed merrily. Harry raised an eyebrow questioningly, but they did not explain, and just smiled.

Hermione called to the room.  
"May I have your attention, please?"

Once all the eyes turned to them, Ron continued.  
"Listen up, people! My beloved sister here would like to make an announcement," earning a glare from Hermione with his choice of words.

Giggling, Ginny rose.  
"Thanks, my dear brother! ... and Hermione. Well, thank you all for coming here and celebrating my birthday. It is definately a lot more than just my birthday, actually, and I ... no, WE'd like to announce ..." She took a breath, then screamed, "...OUR ENGAGEMENT!!"

Ginny then smiled sweetly to her boyfriend, who looked as shocked as others, pulled him up next to her, and kissed.  
"You just had to do this in front of everybody, didn't you?"  
Harry mumbled to her with a sigh, though his eyes betrayed the tone of his voice. Ginny just smiled sweetly at him with a nod.  
There was dead silence for a few seconds, then chaos erupted in the Great Hall.

"WHAT!?"  
"Merlin, you did what, engage? B- but.. you're so young!"  
"Excellent"  
"Yeah! Way to go, guys!"

Harry canceled the Fidelius Charm on their rings, and both agreed silently to show their rings to others in the room.  
At that time, many gasps were heard from their friends.

But, the real surprise was when the two magical creatures floated above the couple. During all the confusion, Fawkes and Sol flamed into the room, just behind the couple.

Quite oblivious to the magical creatures joining them, Harry and Ginny took the other's hands, and stared into the other's eyes. The green met the brown, and Harry felt warmth spread from their united hands through his entire body. He felt, rather than saw, that both he and Ginny were glowing in faint golden light, which was steadily encasing all four of them, then intensifying .  
Harry had his wand in his right hand, while his left hand still holding Ginny's left hand, and she had her wand in her right hand. Together, the couple tapped their united hands, and raised their wands high above their heads, whispering _"teth vitalis et sanguis corporo spirito"_

Fawkes gave its unearthly song, and Sol roared his triumph into the magically displayed sky of the Great Hall. Then, Harry and Ginny muttered together, **"Engage."**

A blinding white light erupted from the united hands, reflected by Fawkes and Sol, with each reflection being even brighter, and the white glow filled the room with warmth. Everyone in attendance felt a rush of air breeze through them, but when they opened their eyes, they found everything was still the same as before; nothing fell off the table despite of the wind they felt.

They looked at the young couple in awe, realizing that the true meaning of the unfolding scene in front of them. This was not just a ceremony of engagement. The spell the couple used was of once popular Blood Bonding, though no one has ever heard of a phoenix and a griffin participating in its ritual. It had to be something better, something uniquely Harry and Ginny.

Harry and Ginny heard a voice in their heads; no, it was rather a thought that that suddenly placed in their head rather than in words:

_'We shall honor your path that you have chosen, and your commitment to each other, thus shall seal and complete your bond with the magic and authority vested in us.'_

Harry thought it was Sol speaking to him, and Ginny thought it was Fawkes speaking to her, except that these words just sort of popped into their heads, rather than hearing them with their ears. When they discussed this later, they discovered that the words were the same, and the word **'we'** would mean they have the blessing of both Fawkes and Sol.  
Harry did not know how long they stayed like that, but when they returned to senses, everyone in the room was still lost for words. No one spoke, nor moved. There was shock evident in every face, and Harry and Ginny just looked at their respective pet partner lovingly.

It was McGonagall who broke the silence.  
"Merlin, I have never seen such a powerful bonding in my lifetime!"  
She turned to Dumbledore's portrait, which was set in the Great Hall for the occasion.  
Dumbledore looked impressed.  
"No, Minerva. I have never seen such a wonderful phenomenon, either, though I do have suspicions. May I ask a few questions?"

His eyes were merrily twinkling, even more so now than before.  
"Certainly. Harry, Ginny, if you may, please come over here. Albus has some questions."

Fawkes perched on Ginny's shoulder, and Sol followed Harry, who absentmindedly stroked its fur gently.

"Now, Ginny, would you mind if I ask you a few questions? Harry?"  
Both shook their heads, though Harry quickly added, "We'll answer the best we can, sir."  
"Thank you, Harry. Well, I see Fawkes has chosen you, Ginny. Congratulations. And so did the griffin, I see. I'm almost certain that this is the first time a griffin chooses a wizard, however. It is a great honor, Harry."

The young couple smiled, and nodded at the late headmaster.  
"I know about Harry's wand. May I ask you about your new wand, Ginny?"  
"Yes," she answered without changing her tone. There was her parents raising their eyebrow at this, but they did not make any comment at this.

"Does it have a feather of a griffin in your wand? Specifically, of Harry's griffin?"  
Harry and Ginny looked at each other.  
"How did you know that, sir?"  
"Ah, so it is his, then. Excellent. It is quite extraordinary, you two."

Dumbledore explained to others who looked ready to burst with many questions.  
"You see, Harry's wand core comes from Fawkes, who bonded to Ginny. Ginny's wand core comes from the griffin, who bonded to Harry... by the way, what is the name of this wonderful creature?"  
"It is Sol, sir."  
"Sol, as in the sun? Hmm... interesting. Well, that is for another discussion, I reckon. The point is, you two not only completed the bonding of engagement, but with the blessing of two most powerful magical creatures, you now have Agapas Telios in place between the two of you."

A few gasps were heard at this statement, then silence followed.  
Most of the students had puzzled expression, and so did many adults. However, Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Flitwick apparently had heard of it.

"Albus... are you sure? There have been no record of such bonding in the history of Hogwarts, at least in the past thousand years."  
McGonagall looked almost afraid to say this.  
Then, Flitwick continued in awe, "It has been always regarded as legend... I'm certainly honored to witness this."

Both Harry and Ginny had puzzled expression. After all, they had performed the usual bond of 'teth vitalis et sanguis', a bonding ceremony that used to be done as part of wedding, once very popular. It was not commonly done lately, but surely they would not be the first in more than a millenium? In front of them, Hermione was considering this information; _'I have heard of this name, Agapas Telios, somewhere; but where was it?'_ Ron was opening and closing his mouth without any sound coming out of it.

Dumbledore continued.  
"Harry and Ginny did follow the instruction for teth vitalis et sanguis, a type of bonding ceremony that used to be performed at wedding. It was popular about three hundred years ago, but then mostly gotten out of favor due to its implication that it cannot be undone.  
By the two powerful magical creature of light participating, the Blood Bonding became a lot more than just that. Legend has it that only when two persons wholeheartedly commit to each other in unconditioinal love, a perfect bond may appear that strengthen their magic. It would act as a perfect shield under attack, it would allow them to communicate without words when needed, and it would combine their magic if necessary. Most of these information have been only speculation however, as there has been no observed bond in the past few millenia. You two are truly remarkable, Harry, Ginny," then he added in a small voice so only the two can hear, "... or should I say, Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" Harry and Ginny looked pleased, and had a blush on their cheeks at this, but did not say anything. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling, almost as if he were teasing them.

When people finally regained their voices, Fawkes and Sol were gone, leaving Harry and Ginny who were quietly talking to each other. Hermione decided to ask them about the rings. She has read all about Potter heirlooms that she could, and realized that their rings were said to have many protective enchantments, though none of the books she read described what the enchantments were. Knowing Harry, she had to make sure they knew what they had in their hands.  
"Harry, Ginny... can I ask you something?"

Catching their attention, she continued.  
"It's about your rings. Didn't you say something about them being enchanted? Do you know which magic the rings have?"  
Harry looked at her thoughfully, then smiled.  
"I thought you read about the rings already?"

Hermione blushed.  
"Yes, I did... I just thought you both should know what they'd do. If you know already, that's fine."

Ginny glanced back at Harry. They knew the book she had read did not contain much about the properties of their rings. But then, this was Hermione. She might have been able to dig things from other sources they did not even know existed.  
"Well, most of the books available would not comment about Potter Heirloom rings, as we Potters simply do not talk about them," Harry explained.

"But trust me, Hermione, Ginny and I both know what they are, but would like to keep it to us. Not that we don't trust you, but some things just need to be kept as family secret, even if it's a small secret."

. . .

On the next day, Harry and Ginny went to Diagon Alley with escorts. Harry needed to visit Gringotts again to discuss finances with Griphook, and hopefully to persuade goblins to take his side in the upcoming war. Bill urged Harry to at least try talking with them about not getting involved with Voldemort. He argued that Potters used to be very influential among goblins, at least until Harry's grandparents' days. He stressed that goblins did make special arrangements for Harry to go to his vaults, something the goblins had never done in the past several decades. Harry shrugged, saying that he'd give it a try. It wouldn't hurt to try anyway, he thought. Harry asked Ginny to accompany him, who immediately agreed, then asked for some escorts. Ron and Hermione decided to go to Flourish and Blotts with Neville and Luna, and Arthur, Remus, Bill, and Fleur volunteered to be escorts. They agreed to meet at the Leaky Cauldron when they were done. Bill and Fleur were accompanying Harry and Ginny to the Gringotts, while the others would accompany the other four teens.

Two hours later, Harry and Ginny were still discussing with goblins when a goblin hurried into the meeting room, whispering something to Griphook, who nodded, and turned to the couple.

"I regret to inform you that we shall have to continue further discussion another time. You are correct; Goblins do not have allegience to either Ministry of Magic or the Dark Lord. However, we do have allegience to our valued customers, and the Dark Lord is certainly not one."

Ginny answered, "We're glad to hear you say so."  
Harry nodded, "It should be a profitable relationship, if I may say so,"  
Griphook nodded approvingly. Harry asked, "Would it be possible to continue this discussion tomorrow, say around 8:30am?"  
Again the goblin nodded in agreement.

They rose, and bowed to each other. When Griphook was escorting the couple, he warned them that there was some suspicious activities outside. "Please be careful, Mr. Potter, and Mrs. Potter. And yes, we shall meet again tomorrow."

With that, he was gone, leaving Harry and Ginny wondering what the warning was about. Bill and Fleur joined them briefly, but were called away. "Did you know Bill and Fleur were at work today, Gin?" Harry chuckled. Ginny smiled, and shook her head. No wonder Bill and Fleur insisted on escorting them only to the Gringotts, he mused. They were to meet Arthur at the Bank on their way out.

Arthur Weasley was not there yet, however: Instead, they received a patronus message from him:  
_"Apparate to Leaky Cauldron as soon as possible."_.

Harry shared a confused look with Ginny. 'What is going on?' Shrugging, they quickly went to the bank's apparition point, and concentrated on their destination.

The first thing Harry and Ginny noticed was how chilly the air was. The sky was filled with something dark, and the atmosphere there was ... ominous. Harry immediately knew what was going on.

'Dementors!'

Harry and Ginny felt relieved that Ron and Hermione were still standing there close, but then looking at there were only two patronuses left protecting the entire area, the couple rushed forward. Arthur, Remus, Neville and Luna were all on the ground, unconscious.

"Expecto Patronum!!" yelled Harry and Ginny, side by side. Out from Harry's wand was the stag patronus, and from Ginny's, there was a silver gazelle. The patronus kept charging at the whole army of dementors.

There were so many dementors coming toward them. It was as if the dementors decided to take out their resisting force before attacking victims. Hundreds of the cloaked figures were now converging in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

Despite of the strong presence of their patronuses, Harry started to sense dread.  
Then, with a flash of fire, Fawkes and Sol flamed in on shoulders of the couple.  
Fawkes sang the phoenix song from Ginny's left shoulder. Harry felt Sol's weight on his right shoulder.

Its effect was immediate to the couple. No longer feeling the dread and chill, Harry and Ginny conjured another patronuses, this time with their hands held together.

To their astonishment, the stag met with a gazelle, transforming themselves into a single huge phoenix.  
Upon contact with the combined patronus, the dementor just vanished in an instant.

Dementors froze.

Ripples of fear spread among them as a shockwave, and few people still standing felt some hope returning. Ron and Hermione were now free of a dementor approaching them, and their patronuses were now charging dementors away toward the large phoenix patronus.

It was when Fawkes' song changed. It was vibrating the air surrounding them, giving off tidal waves of hope.  
At the same time, Sol roared, with fire blasting off from its mouth.

When the vibration wave and the fire soared through the air, the four smaller patronuses contained the dementors from all four sides toward the large phoenix patronus. The phoenix patronus then received the tidal wave and the fire, blasting through the entire hordes of dementors.

Then there was a blinding white light filling the battlefield, causing everyone to close their eyes tightly.

When the light cleared, there was no dementors left.

"W -- What happened?" stuttered Ron.  
"It seemed as if Harry's patronus and Ginny's patronus have united, and just exploded..." trailed Hermione, shaking her head dreamily.

"No," Harry said, recovering from his state of shock, and staring into Ginny's eyes, who was still in awe.  
"They did not explode. I saw the combined patronus made the entire army of dementors to vanish though..."

"Didn't you see the white light though? It was so bright I could not keep looking."  
Ginny spoke up, having recovered from the shock.

"The light you saw was from us, Ron."  
"What?!"  
"I mean, the four of us: me, Harry, Fawkes, and Sol."

. . .

Later, when history books would write about this, it all referred to an article on The Daily Prophet the next day:

_'It was when the last two of the patronuses were barely holding off the entire area for us and armies of dementors seemed victorius.  
When all hope was seemingly gone, there was another crack, and there stood two figures, side by side, and bellowed the incantation.  
Two silvery mists forming corporal patronuses, a stag and a gazelle, charged forward, driving away the dementors further._

_But the truly fascinating was what came next: Another pair of the stag and the gazelle came forward, and just united into one huge patronus (a phoenix?) that not only it sent dementors away from all the people on ground, but it actually wiped them all out of the area on contact!  
When the remaining dementors tried to run away, the two remaining patronuses, an otter and a terrier, and the first pair of a stag and a gazelle effectively blocked the escape routes, quickly freezing all remaining dementors inside a seemingly clear shell._

_Then it happened._

_The couple was standing in front of the contained dementors, and the large phoenix blasted through them.  
We do not know of any other word to describe the scene -- it was simply outstandingly majestic._

_Yes, **MAJESTICA!**_

_The next instant, there was a blinding white light which should rival supernova, and the dementors were all gone... destroyed, without a trace._

_There was not even a sound of agony from dementors._

_Just like the rising sun, it was the light that drove away the darkness of storm and despair.  
It was the light that provided us the warmth, comfort, and hope. It felt as if the temperature of the area suddenly rose by several degrees._

_We do not have identity of the couple, but many at the scene believed that one of the two was Harry Potter, also known as the Boy Who Lived, or as some might call The Chosen One. Mr. Potter was not available for comment, however, and the identity of his partner was not known...'_

It was truly amazing, thought Harry. This was a testament to what Dumbledore had always told him: his power was love. He knew it only worked as it did because of his mutual love with Ginny.

'Agapas Telios' that they share now was Ancient Magic, according to McGonagall, and because of that, their patronuses were united into one, signifying completion of their special bond. Their love for each other was so pure and strong, dementors could not exist when directly exposed to, she explained almost in awe. She told them that their magic was magnified to infinity because of it, and added,  
"It is the unconditional love to each other that makes it possible to do wonders, Mr. Potter, Ms Weasley."

Harry remembered his conversation he had a year before, in this same room, with Albus Dumbledore.  
_"It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort even without his Horcruxes."_  
_"But I haven't got uncommon skill and power..."  
"Yes, you have. You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can... "  
"I know!" said Harry impatiently. "I can love!" It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, "Big deal"_  
_"Yes, Harry, you can love," said Dumbledore, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Harry had just refrained from saying. "Which, given everything that has happened to you, is a great and remarkable thing. You are still too young to understand how unusual you are, Harry."_

After everything he had gone through, he was never lured to the dark side. He remained pure and whole, being protected by love of his parents, Sirius, and others who cared for him. And now, it was his and Ginny's love, that was doing true wonders no one had ever dreamed of possible.

One thing was certain: Voldemort was now on the offensive again, but there would be no more threats of dementors.


	6. Chapter 6 Collection

**Harry Potter and the Seekers of the Unknown**

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and characters belong to JK Rowling, as you all well know.

**A/N:** With Deathly Hallows out, this story is now considered AU. This was planned after HBP but before the release of DH, and as such, any similarities with DH would be coincidental.

**6. Collection**

Fred beckoned Harry to a side. "Harry, got a minute?"

It was shortly after the party got started for Ginny. Harry and Ginny were wandering around among the tables decrated for the occasion.  
He nodded, and whispered to Ginny, "I'll be right back."  
She smiled, and nodded. Harry knew the look: he'd better be quick, and be ready to tell her everything what it was about later on.

Fred led Harry to a corner not well lit, and behind a pillar, there was a door to a side room. Inside, George was waiting for them.

"Finally. What took you so long?"

"Well, brother-of-mine, you should know..."  
"... our sister can be very..."  
"... difficult to walk away from. I know. Alright, Harry?"

Harry could not help it, but smile. It always amazed how the twins could carry on a conversation as if they were able to read each other's mind.

"I'm fine. Now, what's so important that you two have to keep everyone else in the dark?"

"Well, George, he must be mistaken. We are in the dark, not them."  
"Too right, Fred. After all, the ball room is well lit, not here."  
"But our primary investor looks like..."  
"... itching to go back to our beloved sister, so..."  
"With no further delay, here is our latest invention..."  
"... that you might be interested!"

What George pulled out of his robe was ... a stack of ... playing card?

Grinning at Harry, who had confuzed look, Fred (or was it George?) added.  
"You may recall, Harry, that you requested for a solution to the Killing Curse."  
"Rather ingenious way, I might add..."  
"Very true, Gred. It was well worthy of Merlin's beard..."

Interrupting them, Harry asked, "So, what does this card do?"

George whispered, "We call this 'InstaShield', only available to our cause, if you know what I mean..."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "The Order, you mean?"

Fred nodded. "Correct in one. We took your idea to another level; why not creating portable shield against any curse at the same time?"  
"We then got rather brilliant Muggle movie where a hero uses a deck of playing cards as weapon."  
"You see, each card is charmed to become a shield for any curse directed to you. Simply throw it in a general direction of an incoming curse. The card would intercepts it, blocks it, and reflects it back to whoever casted it. In the case of the Killing Curse, the card will explode, but the curse does stop there. If not destroyed, the card comes back to the deck automatically."

Harry looked at the card he's holding in awe.  
The card looked exactly like the ones used for Muggle card game, except that on the back, the logo of 'WWW' was printed at its center.

Harry beamed at them. "It's... woa! It's just bloody brilliant! ... By the way, this would not act like Exploding Snap, would it...?"

"... Now that is a thought"  
"... Yes, and it has some merits, but... "  
"... We thought exploding should only be limited...  
"... to its originally intended job of your noble suggestion."

Then, the twins chorused, "So, you like it?"

Harry nodded. "Of course, I love it! How much do I owe you for six of these?"

"Now, you know we do not take money from our primary investor."  
"Too right, my dear brother. And this is for stopping the evil gits, so it's our contribution."  
"But this is not all. We did have another invention, did we not, George?"  
"Ah, yes, how could we forget the other one!? But sadly, it was too bulky to bring in to Hogwarts..."  
"Right, and we would like you and our beloved sister to come, visit our humble premises tomorrow."  
"Of course, our beloved little Ronnikin and dear Hermione may join you..."  
"... Though it would mainly concern you, for a reason we'd rather not disclose just at the moment."

"So, you want Ginny and I to come to your shop tommorrow then?"

Fred and George nodded.

"Sure, I'll ask Ginny."

"Great. You won't be disappointed, we assure you. No, no pranks either."  
Fred's voice had a hint of amusing tone.

"Well, here's your stack, and another for our dear sister. We'll get you four stacks when we see you tommorrow, then."

"Wonderful. And... thanks. I do need to pay you in some way, though."

The twins shook their heads simultaneously.  
"No, as we told you, we do not take money from you."

"Then how about investment? Surely, you do need to obtain special supply for this kind of products? I'd be more than happy to contribute."

Fred looked at George, who looked back, and shrrugged.

"If you put that way..."  
"... well, we'll discuss it more in detail when we have a chance, then."

"Right. Maybe we should get back to the party now? Before people start sending a search party for us..."

George and Fred looked at each other again, and grinned.  
"Or before our sister start hexing us for keeping you from her so long. Let's go."

* * *

After working out his contribution to research and development cost, Harry found himself with Ginny at the Wheezly's Wizarding Wheezes. What they found was something totally unexpected, yet so obviouly useful once you get to see one.

It was a pair of enchanted doors allowing its owner and selected members to move between two locations. Based on a two-way mirror Sirius had given Harry, it had many security features built-in. The doors' owner must also own the houses he or she would install them to. Only people listed in 'allow list' would be able to see the door to begin with. It allows a quick and secret means of transport from one house to another for their owner and family.

Since Harry owned Number 12 Grimmauld Place and Potter Manor, Potter Place, and other properties, he could now travel his houses without relying on floo network, which can be unreliable these days, or portkeys, which can be traced. The owner could peek through secure window to see what the other side is like just in case, thus there would be no surprise when one goes through the door, addressing one of the shortcomings of apparition.

This new product, 'Dumbly Door', was a stroke of pure genius. Harry could not believe his ears when he heard what it would allow him to do. Another feature was that it had two modes of operation: one was 'standard', and another 'emergency'. One may set the standard mode so that the door would not allow kids to go through, but may allow in emergency situation. Ginny giggled hearing this, later saying that she could not believe her twin brothers were addressing 'parental concern'.

Harry agreed with the twins to install the Dumbly Door to each of his houses, and made the 'allow list'. He had put only himself, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione as the standard list for the time being, as they would be moving from place to place mostly. On emergency list, however, all the Weasleys, Neville, Luna, Remus and Tonks were now listed. With this installed, he decided to disable all floo network connection except to the Grimmauld Place. It took only two days to go through all his houses and to install the door.

When they returned, Harry and Ginny updated the other four of what the news was, and each one was now an owner of the 'InstaShield'. With this to counter the Killing Curse, Harry finally felt they were ready to go on to actually seaching the Horcruxes.

Of the six, since none of the four remaining unbonded were sure of, they did not go through the blood bond. Instead, they decided to discuss with Fred and George about some sort of secure communication device that they could use. Muggles do have mobile phone relatively small and easy to use, so why not them? It just need to communicate in magical means, not rely on electricity or radio waves.

When Ron and Ginny had run by Fred, he simply nodded, telling them that it would be ready in two to three weeks.

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione paid a visit to the Grimmauld Place five days after Ginny's birthday. Since the communication device Fred promised would not be available for another one and a half week, there was no other way of communication. Ginny reluctantly agreed to stay in Hogwarts with Lupin and Tonks going over stacks of parchments Harry got from the Potter Manor. Harry and Ginny were also testing their bond to see if they could communicate over the distance, and through many wards.

"I think this is the place we had the locket..."  
Hermione mumbled, going through the bag of valuables and heirloom Sirius was going to throw away. Mundungus Fletcher did try to sell some of more valuable ones, though Kreacher apparently put a stop to it somehow, and managed to keep them in the house.

"Of course, the locket that did not open..."

Harry and Ron helped her go through things, mentally berating themselves why they did not think of it before. However, they could not find the locket in the bag.

For the next two hours, Harry, Ron, and Hermione searched the house, but to no avail. Remus joined later in the search when he returned, but did not find any trace of it. Tonks was still on duty at the Ministry, sparing them of explaining this sudden raid. Harry and Ron started talking about how to apprehend Mundungus Fletcher and see if he had sold it, when Remus suggested to call Kreacher to see if he knew of the locket. Harry called out for his reluctant house elf.

"Kreacher!"

_Crack!_

"My half blood master calls, but Kreacher has to listen and follow... Yes, master?"

Harry took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I want you to tell me if you know the golden locket with an engraving 'S' on it. The one no one could open, similar to this one."

Kreacher's big beady eyes darted from one to another end of the room they were in.

"Kreacher, it is an order!"

Harry saw his elf being strangely quiet, looking at the fake locket that he showed, with the note of 'RAB.  
When he was going to say something else to prompt the aged elf, Kreacher opened his mouth, but was in faint, almost awed voice.

"So, master had found what it meant? My master is now following the trail of my wonderful master?"

Hermione asked, "Regulus A Black?"

Kreacher's head snapped to her direction. He did not answer.

"It was Regulus who went to the cave, wasn't he? Kreacher?"

Slowly, Kreacher nodded to Harry.  
"Yes, master. Kreacher and Master Regulus went to the cave. It was I who helped him. He was so concerned about me, good master Regulus he was... Master Regulus and Master Snape worked very hard, but could not get around the..."

"WHAT!!!"

Four shouts simultaneously stopped Kreacher from continuing.

"Kreacher, let me get this straight. Snape, Regulus Black, and you worked together to destroy the locket?"

"Yes, master."

"So you know what the locket was... is?"

"Yes, sir. It was to house a part of the very dark soul... Kreacher had to drink the pure vile thing for my master, but Kreacher managed it... he would not let the work rot in vain... oh no. I shall not allow that piece of stupidity he calls himself human to leave this place with the lifework of my master."

"Meaning Mundungus Fletcher?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Do you have the locket, Kreacher?"

"Of course, right here with me."

"Give it to me."

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know what it takes to destroy the evil in it, master?"

Kreacher was no longer a mean, nasty, old house-elf. Somehow, his demeanor changed, as if he was now serving his true master for the first time in a long time. He now looked straighter, and did not have the sinister look that Harry was so familiar with. He used to look sombre, but now ... inspired? Harry decided to answer honestly, feeling that Ginny was now paying close attention to what was taking place here.

"No, but maybe you can tell me?"

Kreacher's eyes bulged, mumbling and stuttering something like 'no other wizard or witch', 'never in my life', and 'unbelievably different master'. Shaking his head slightly, Kreacher finally answered.

"Yes, master. Facing you now, I can sense your mistress with a phoenix, and your griffin's presence. It takes the serpent's words to open, but combined effort of at least four wizards or of three wizards and a magical creature should be able to destroy its content if and only if their intentions were the same. Master Regulus had help of his good friend master Snape, but it was not enough. He could not trust any other wizard, and we knew master Sirius would not believe his brother. He just could not afford to raise others' suspicion... poor master..."

Harry was stunned at this revelation. Glancing at Ron and Hermione, he noted they, too, were speechless. Remus had a look of sad understanding.

After all, not only Sirius, but James and Remus both did not trust Regulus... or Snape, for that matter.

Without a warning, the house elf's outfit changed in front of their eyes.

Instead of the filthy torn towel, he now had black tunic with delicate, complicated embroidered design. Silver and golden thread formed a Black Family crest. Underneath the crest, there were four symbols in Rune. Hermione and Remus recognized the Rune, and murmured disbelievingly. In addition to the family motto _'Toujours Pur'_ as part of the crest, four symbols were embroidered to mean 'At Heart, For All Beings Magical.

"Always pure at heart, for all beings magical?" She murmured in a very small voice, as if she were afraid of its meaning.

Ron snapped his head up, and stared at the house elf disbelievingly.

"But... but it'd mean Snape was working against You-Know-Who! How'd that be? He killed Dumbledore!"

It was true: it would not add up.

Something was missing... or rather, more information was needed to explain this. Harry was certain Kreacher was telling the truth, and both Remus and Hermione agreed. Ron had doubtful look, but agreed reluctantly afterwards. They'd need to find out. Possibly after this.

At least, Kreacher believed what he said, and he now appears to be different. How truly different he was, Harry was not sure, but based on what he's heard and seen, it was for the better.

Kreacher then produced an old parchment from inside his newly appeared robe, and handed it to Harry. "Master, this is from my old Master Regulus. He is writing to whoever willing to continue his work."

"His work, meaning bringing mortality back to Voldemort?" he asked as he sensed no magic on the parchment. The house elf nodded, "Yes, master"

The parchment outlined what spells were used to protect the locket. It had four layers of repelling charms and three different spells that can be activated on contact with any other charms. In order to disable them, at least three people had to counteract the three spells all at the same time, and another had to shield themselves, then one could remove the protection.

Hermione voiced her concern, "How do we even know this is the only protection that locket has? How do we know there isn't more to that, Harry? It's too risky."

Ron was not as sure to oppose, but agreed that it was risky.  
"Maybe we could ask Bill to take a look. He is a curse breaker, after all."

Remus was, however, the one who stopped the argument before Harry said anything.  
"Well, I can sense and evaluate whatever the curses are placed on the locket, too. The less people involved, the better; remember?"

After concentrating with his wand, and silently casting a series of detecting spells, he stopped, and told the others that the parchment seems to be correct.

Remus then continued, "the problem is, how to destroy the horcrux itself, not removing whatever the protections are. This parchment only describes what the locket has as its protection."

Kreacher answered, "I is not knowing, sirs and miss. Master Regulus' research did not reach the conclusion, except that only the pure at heart could do it, if united."

Deciding quickly, Harry called Ginny in via Fawkes, and Sol flamed in as well. When Kreacher had gotten over his awe of griffin's presence, he led the others to the basement of the Black Manor that Harry nor Remus knew about. It was dimly lit, but was clean and without any cluttered objects. It was a dueling room, Kreacher explained to the others, though not been in use since many decades ago, when the master then decided to erase the four Runes from the family crest.

On the floor, there was a large circle with a smaller concentric circle. In between, there were a series of Runes too ancient for Hermione to recognize. Inside the circles, they noticed a pentacle, with each point containing a Rune symbol.

The three wizards, two witches, a phoenix, a griffin, and a house elf all stared at the locket placed on a stone table at the center. Fawkes and Sol apparently recognize the Rune, and explained to Ginny and Harry respectively that they would be happy to assist Kreacher now that 'his curse' was lifted, adding that the house elf was supposedly a very prominent one in his race.

Hearing this, Harry summoned Dobby and Winky. They also confirmed what the Runes were for; it would act as an amplifier for elf magic.

Discussing quickly, they decided to pair up -- one human with one magical being. Based on bond, Harry paired with Sol, and Ginny with Fawkes. Since Remus was the eldest of the five, he paired with Kreacher, Ron was with Dobby, and Hermione with Winky. This way, each of the magical beings can protect the human partner, while he or she casts countercurses. Because Sol and Fawkes are the strongest, the othe three would form a triangle, with Sol taking far left, and Fawkes taking far right position. Kreacher, being the eldest of the house elves, took the top position, that is, the farthest position, while Dobby taking the near left, and Winking taking the near right.

Once they knew of the spell to use and situated themselves on the circle, Harry hissed at the locket in Parseltongue, _"Open."_

Slowly, the lid opened. Then, with a faint click, it snapped fully open.

First, nothing happened. The five of them whispered an incantation, activating the pentacle's Runes. With a faint blue glow, each of the Rune emit a spark, then a dome of magical energy field surrounded them. Then the five magical creatures mumbled something Harry could not understand, though its result was evident. There was another faint glow in front of the human-magical creature pairs.

There were now two magical energy domes; one outside them, and another in front of them, shielding themselves from whatever happens from the locket.

The next instant, there was a loud crack, and a mist of greenish smoke rose from the locket. Some sizzling sound and lightenings emitted out of the locket, but each blocked and reflected back to the mist. One could almost hear a cry of agony that the mist let out, even through the shield in place. When the mist's attempt to escape intensified, the inside shield began to falter.

Sensing that, Harry reacted by shouting _"Incendio Magnus!"_

Instead of a large fire everyone expected, a small but blazingly white and intense fire erupted from the wand. When the fire hit the mist, the inside shield was back up, though Sol roared into the fire making it even more intense, and everyone had to shield his or her eyes. But the shield turned darker, relieving their eyes in a few moments, and all could concentrate on tasks at hand.

All efforts were now on maintaining their shield, and destroying the Horcrux. Ginny then added her fire into Harry's, then Ron, Hermione, and Remus followed suit. When Fawkes' song reached its climax, an unearthly cry of the mist was heard one last time, then the fire was gone.

The Slytherin's locket was now just that; a locket.

One by one, the shield was brought down, and Kreacher was in awe of what just happened. His and his master's life work was now complete. Suddenly, he remembered being part of a noble class of house elves, what his masters had given him important tasks ages ago. Kreacher had to continue his work to serve his new master, who has proven to him that for the first time in many generations, the true inheritance of his master's family could be granted. That would give them a sure advantage over any of the Death Eaters or the Dark Lord, as the knowledge had been lost for hundreds of years to mankind.

Among them was a way to 'seap through' wards so that one may go through any protective wards without alerting nor being affected. When one casts the charm, the caster may sort of blend with the ward itself so the ward will not stop the caster; theory is to create the equivalent force field around the caster, and the field will merge with the ward; then the caster will move while the field is still intact and pass through without activating anything associated with the ward. It works on almost any type of the wards, except for the blood ward.

Decades ago, when the Black Family was still the defender of rights for all magical creatures, they predicted many unable to overcome prejudice, and thus sealed their vast knowledge in magic so that only the ones pure at heart and sincere in defending rights of all creatures could receive. Kreacher's masters had not been able to... until now.

Now that the memory block was lifted, quietly, Kreacher muttered a long chanting for granting Harry Potter and his mistress an access to the vast knowledge of Black Family secrets.

* * *

For the next two weeks, Harry and Ginny explored their new-found ability of the bond. Using the meditating technique taught by Lupin, the couple discovered that they could 'speak' to each other nonverbally from a great distance. Harry could feel her presence in his mind unless one or the other chose to 'close' the connection, and both were quite surprised to find that they could 'communicate' in thoughts, thus enabling to discuss things much faster, and much more in-depth. Both were astonished that the other was able to keep up with his or her own thoughts. They were, indeed, made for each other.

Lupin proudly declared that the two now were quite capable in shielding their thoughts from any intrusion. Hermione was also able to master the art, and Ron, Neville, and Luna were all not far behind.

Also, Harry was very pleased to find that he no longer had any connection to Voldemort. When Sol bonded with Harry, the griffin sensed a thread inside Harry connecting him with the evil force, and effectively destroyed it by bonding with him in a way so his soul is free of any outside manipulation. Any trace of residual soul fragments could not be detected when Harry and Ginny bonded.

Fawkes and Sol were now able to train their respective human partner in organizing his/her thoughts, mind, and body. During their new training, Fawkes taught Ginny how to 'weave' her magic while Sol did the same to Harry. It was a form of wandless magic enabling them to feel and detect presence of magic field and using the magic around them to direct the force toward their purpose. Instead of relying on a wand, they would simply nudge the magical energy field to conform to their need. It required lots of concentration and effort initially, but once they learned how and began practicing, it was easier little by little.

When the Black Family secrets were bestowed on the couple, training their magic became a lot simpler; they absorbed and understood all so well. The knowledge was there now; they only needed to train so all the knowledge and moves could be effectively utilized. Once they were comfortable enough, Harry and Ginny decided to share the knowlege with the other four in the group.

Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione were studying the quills left to Harry by Dumbledore, going over his work on Tom Riddle. They noted that the Riddle House and the graveyard of Riddles were only located recently, and needed thorough investigation. Apparently, Dumbledore felt the cave held higher priority, as Tom used the graveyard to resurrect himself so that the place should not contain another Horcrux. On the other hand, if their theory was correct, then there should be at least one 'used' Horcrux there. Ron wanted to pay a visit immediately, insisting they visit the Riddle House next, and was already planning in detail.

During their research, Neville and Luna found a charm called 'Refraction Charm' while studying the stacks of parchments Harry inherited in his Vault. Apparently, the charm would be able to 'bend' the course of a curse or charm if cast in a timely fashion, and theoretically, there was no limit to what the curse was. Technically, one may be able to avoid being hit by a Killing Curse, if he or she could cast this charm properly. Tricky part was to be able to cast the spell on time, without hurting others in the process. Another possible course of action would be to redirect the incoming curse back to the incoming curse would just go round the castor of this charm, then exit the other side back to the offender. Given enough training, the angle can be specified without speaking out the degree of refraction with the incantation. When casted, one can see slight flicker in the area designated.

Coupled with another charm that would amplify the strength of a curse, one could simulate what Muggles call a particle accelerator. It would require at least two people with a very tight control in timing of casting the charms, and a very strong magic behind all, not to mention absolute trust to each other. The six of them did trust each other, but such timing could only achieved if they could somehow communicate without words in a matter of milliseconds. It would only come with practice, and so, they did just that, repeatedly until it became it was natural for them to do as a team.

* * *

Toward the end of the August, the six of them paid a visit to the graveyard where Voldemort was resurrected as Ron planned. If their theory was correct, there must have been one or two 'used' Horcruxes that night. Since Voldemort would not care for any sentimental value, those items may well be in that graveyard still, discarded. Of course, there may not be, though there was only one way to find out.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached the area carefully, with Ginny, Neville, and Luna as backup a few hundred meters back in the woods. Sol and Harry flamed to the wood first to secure the area under his Invisibility Cloak, then Harry gave Ginny a go-ahead signal through their link.

It was eerily silent. They could feel the air being rather thick with mist, and even the sun does not reach fully into the thickness of the trees. There was no sound in the area. Not a bird or an insect, no small animals was found.

It was warded, they realized. It was time to use their new found ability to'seep through' the ward without alerting any trap.

Carefully, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the area, signaling the other team to keep watch.

As Harry approached the clearing, he noticed that the area was warded; he could sense it. Not wanting to alert anyone, he stopped to regroup. It was time to use the special knowledge to test. Using hand signal, Harry alerted the other two of the ward, and cast an incantation silently on himself to sneak through the ward. Ron and Hermione soon followed suit, and they felt becoming a part of a ward and slip through as they proceed carefully.

Whatever Harry or any of the others were expecting in the area, it was definitely not this when they passed through the ward stealthly.

Yes, the graveyard was there, and the Riddle house could be seen some distance away.

But in front of the tombstones, there was a lump... body of Peter Petigrew, to be exact.

Next to it, there was a big cauldron, which Harry identified as the one Voldemort's body emerged a couple of years ago. There was a rather large crack on the cauldron, and Hermione immediately checked for any residual curses. There was none, but they saw a small badger engraved on its side. Harry could feel some residual magic from the cauldron, confirming it having been used for a Horcrux, though not any more.

But why was Wormtail killed?

"Harry...?"

Hermione whispered hesitantly.

Ron was looking around the tombstone carefully for any other clues.

"We should probably call aurors."

Harry mumbled, "...but who? The ward..."

"Yes, the ward may be a problem, but not ours to solve, is it? Important thing is to let the aurors know so it can be dealt with properly. Let's tell Tonks or Moody. They won't ask too many questions."

She was right, of course. Making sure that there was no trap or ward on the cauldron, Harry levitated it, and stuck inside a bag, shrunk it, and put inside his robe.

"Harry, Hermione, look."

Ron was pointing toward a parchment nailed to a tree near the tombstone. It was placed so it could be found only when one look for it carefully, with its camouflage and surrounding branches.

Again, after checking for any curses or enchantments, Harry picked it up. But, before looking at it, he beckoned the other two to return to the other three. He was now feeling uneasy being in one place for an extended period of time. His scar was also beginning to prick despite the fact that Sol had destroyed any connection with Tom Riddle; not a good sign.

"Let's get back."

Joining Ginny, Neville and Luna was a quick affair. Making sure to erase any evidence of their presence, they quickly disapparated back to the Grimmauld Place.

Remus Lupin was waiting for them anxiously.

Noticing that there was something wrong, Harry asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Looking relieved that all six had returned safely, but instantly back to grim expression, he answered simply.  
"The Ministry. It's fallen. It's under Voldemort's control now."


	7. Chapter 7 Completion

**Harry Potter and the Seekers of the Unknown**

_**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters belong to JK Rowling, as you all know.**_

_**A/N: This was planned after HBP but before the release of DH, and any similarities with DH would be coincidental.**_

**7. Completion**

Devastation.

That was the word what best described the current state of Wizarding world in Britain on 29 of August. The Daily Prophet reported the 'successful mission' by Lucius Malfoy and others over the 'former' Ministry. All over the world, unbeknown to Harry, it was the talk of all the magical community, that how the terrorists took over the goverment so effortlessly.

To tell the truth, Harry felt it was long overdue. After Dumbledore passed, he half expected Voldemort to take over the Ministry much sooner, possibly during the summer. Harry and his friends did manage to gather most of the Horcruxes, if not all, but not sure if those were all. He also had another lingering question which he never expressed to anyone... _'What if HE was the last Horcrux?'_ After all, there was a strange connection between him and Voldemort that there was no explanation of.

That suspicion was actually confirmed when Neville took him aside and asked privately.

"You mentioned about the ritual used to restore Vodemort's body?" showing an old book from Black Manor library. There was a story of a king many centuries ago. His body was so damaged that he needed a body to continue his quest. He discovered a ritual involving blood of his enemy as life force, his father's bone and his servant's flesh as body ingredients. It did restore his body to his previous health, but later found out that he could not kill his enemy who gave blood unwillingly. When the blood was used, the 'life force' was split from the original body to give enough life force in the new body. The king was able to kill the enemy once, but to his horror, he came back from the tomb to avenge his 'death' essentially finishing his reign.

Harry looked at the paragraph in utter disbelief. It continues to discuss the creation of another method of 'preserving life' based on this phenomenon with use of a complex set of rituals, that also requires use of the Killing Curse. Though it did not mention the word 'Horcrux', both Harry and Neville knew it was just that: it was discussing the history behind creation of Horcrux.

The real meaning of the prophecy was now clear to Harry:

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."_

He was the last Horcrux... well, kind of, thus he was the only one who could finish off Voldemort. Likewise, his blood was used to create the body of Voldemort in the dark magic ritual, essentially making him a sort of like Harry's Horcrux; thus Harry cannot be killed unless Voldemort's body is gone. It was truly ironic, that Voldemort essentially tied himself to Harry, making certain that the prophecy fulfills. This realization did not explain what the 'power the Dark Lord knows not' was, but it did clarify why it had to be him or the Dark Lord.

It was the quiet voice in his head that stopped him going into further melancholy, however. The ever-so-calm presence of Sol reminded him that the connection to the Dark Lord was destroyed during his 'training' with the gryffin. That connection was severed, thereby removing the cursed scar of the 'soulet'. So, yes, he may have been the last of the Horcruxes Tom Riddle had created, but no longer. Immensely relieved and content, Harry thanked his magical presence, and returned to the discussion at hand.

* * * *

Luna Lovegood was considered one of the most eccentric among her peers.

One would only need to look at her once, talk to her once, and he or she would understand why people regard her as such. However, she was not a Ravenclaw for nothing. She did have very sharp, perceptive mind with insight unrivaled among her classmates, possibly her generation, even. She often makes a comment that may be too uncomfortable to others, though in a manner so not too offending to them by use of some exotic (and often imaginary) creatures. Her demeanor usually is so flawless though in a dreamy fashion, that most, if not all, students did not take such comments personally. Many of them do not take such comments seriously, so they usually forgets what they'd been told. In a sense, it was quite a remarkable talent.

However, for those few that actually listen to what she was really saying, they find her wisdom and insight in it. Harry Potter was able to attest to that when he was especially down after the death of his godfather, Sirius Black. Her comments did not necessarily make sense to him, but he did feel better after talking to her. In his opinion, it was priceless. Often times, her words of 'wisdom' came when others least expected. The five of them who were researching the unknown objects with her were close enough to her that they knew they would flow out of her when she was ready.

So, it should be really no surprise when Luna noticed something everyone else simply overlooked. It was Luna who first brought up the question: If Lucius Malfoy was entrusted with the Diary, could other 'inner circle' Death Eaters be entrusted with another? Or more? Despite what his intellectual self was saying in the back of his head, Harry was rendered speechless for a good minute or so when her words were registered by his brain. The other four were no better.

Harry, Ron, Hermione had filled in Neville and Luna about what they've been searching for clues of. Ginny did not comment while the trio took turns in explaining the couple who joined them recently in this quest. After they got over their shock of learning what a Horcrux was, they were all business; to finish this task of returning mortality to Voldemort.

From his witness account when Voldemort had returned in the graveyard, Harry listed names of Death Eaters who showed up at his summons. They should be considered as his most trusted among Death Eaters: Malfoy, Avery, McNair, Crabb, Goyle, Nott. Lestranges were not there, but Voldemort spoke highly of them. Snape and Crouch Jr. were at Hogwarts at the time, and Wormtail was rewarded with a silver hand for helping his master return to his body.

Hermione pointed out that while they should be considered his core group of Death Eaters, some of them were probably more loyal than the others, and Voldmort probably knew it. So, who would be his 'most faithful'? Harry's account clearly told the teens that Avery, Crabb, Goyle and Nott were not the most loyal. McNair was someone only interested in torturing his victims, and the teens felt he'd be ruled out of possible 'protector' of the Horcruxes.

Lucius Malfoy had been entrusted with the Diary which was kept in his 'safe place', the secret vault in Malfoy Manor, until he had slipped it in Ginny's cauldron. Both Harry and Ginny knew Lucius Malfoy must have been subjected to much punishment when his Dark Lord found out about the Diary, though they were not sure if that particular information had ever gotten to Voldemort yet.

Severus Snape was given the task of being a spy in the Order of the Phoenix right under Dumbledore's eyes. He has 'proven' his loyalty by killing the headmaster, the task had been originally given to Draco Malfoy, his godson. Because he was so close to Dumbledore at all time, he was unlikely to be trusted with a Horcrux, though he may or may not have the knowledge of.

Bellatrix Lestrange was brought out of Azkaban by Voldemort, and appears to be one of the most faithful, and the most fiercely loyal of all. When they fought the Death Eaters at the Ministry, it was Voldemort who personally picked her up and disapparated, leaving other Death Eaters there.

Could it be that she was entrusted with a Horcrux? It seemed a feasible assumption.

When Remus joined the discussion later, he looked thoughtful, but nodded. "Yes, it is very possible, and knowing the Lestranges, I'm inclined to believe that they might actually have a High Security Vault at Gringotts. In fact, the only known Death Eater families that may have such protected vaults would be Malfoys and Lestranges. Black family never believed in goblins that much, so they decided not to take their 'service' of High Security Vault. I remember, though, that James once told me Potter family at one time had one, and you may want to ask the goblins."

When Harry visited Gringotts on August 12 with Ginny, they learned what the High Security Vault was, and how it was protected. Potter Family did have one, and Griphook told them Potter Family was one of only twelve that have this priviledge in Britain. They were discussing to schedule a visit to his High Security Vault when the goblins had to defend the Bank from dementer attack in Diagon Alley.

Harry and Ginny did return to the Gringotts the next day early in the morning to continue their discussion with Griphook.

When the couple entered the entrance hall of the bank, however, they were immediately intercepted by a man, who was obviously in a hurry until he saw Harry. It was Minister of Magic, though was at the bank privately, it seemed. After sending a patronus message off, he gave a weak smile at the couple, and whispered.

"Good morning, Harry, Miss Weasley. May I have a word with you both, in private?"

"Good morning, Minister. We have an appointment with goblins in a few minutes, though..." Harry noticed that Rufus Scrimgeur was very alone. Why would Minister of Magic be walking in Diagon Alley alone?

Almost without a second thought, he was asking the Minister about it.

"... What happened to your body guards, sir?"

Perhaps that's why he's having a whispering conversation with them.

"I am here on my private business."

Ginny was not convinced, but seeing Minister's expression, she relented, shrugging that it would be Harry's decision. Harry gave her a nod, and asked Griphook if they could have a meeting room for a few minutes.

Rufus Scrimgeour was silently impressed with the way Harry spoke with the goblin. If he was proud of something about himself, it was his ability to judge a character quickly. Years of experience as an auror and now in politics had taught him how to judge. His fallout with Harry a few months ago was because of some false information given prior to the meeting clouding his judgement. He would not make the same mistake again, especially when dealing with this boy... no, a man.

Usually, goblins were not very accommodating, not even to goverment officials; yet, here he was. The only reasonable explanation would be the wizard was considered a friend or a valued customer to the said goblin. He did not think it was money that was making this goblin act this way; he knew goblins value honor more than anything, and this particular goblin's behaviour was of a proud being, not of greed.

He decided to act cordially to the goblin as well, thanking him for accommodating his need so quickly, which apparently surprised the goblin. The goblin, named Griphook, informed them that the room was secure, and not even a goblin could eavesdrop. Once seated, Scrimgeour casted several privacy charms around themselves, however.

"Right, now, I only have a few minutes to tell you this, so please listen carefully, Mr Potter, Miss Weasley."

Seeing that his tone was formal, Harry and Ginny looked at each other, and nodded without a word. Visibly relieved, the Minister went on to explain quietly about the Emergency Mode of Ministry. It was apparently a public knowledge, but had not been exploited for more than five hundred years. It was not utilized when Voldemort first came to power as many of the goverment officials were involved, but not to the point of national emergency. However, this time around, he felt the situation was more grave, though he did not have time to explain in detail. He just knew that the place was so corrupt, that he did not have enough people to trust with anything important. Attempts to get Harry to be poster boy was part facade camflouging his true plan of getting this Emergency Mode ready to go into effect with moment's notice.

"Just know that when the time comes, the most important part of the Ministry will be in lockdown. All the important documents have been stored in that place, and the most ancient and complete magical library and storage would be there, protected from any other influence. Without those, the Ministry would not function properly nor would be authorized legally. You will be the only key for clearing the State of Emergency along with Aberforth Dumbledore and/or Fawkes."

He quickly continued at the incredulous look Harry and Ginny gave him.

"Oh, no, your name won't appear for instruction of how to unlock it. It only would say to require two of the 'Dumbledore's Men'."

Harry had to roll his eyes. He knew only Aberforth Dumbledore was the living member of Dumbledore. It certainly would throw the Death Eaters off. Harry thought they could actually interpret as Order of the Phoenix, but then Minister should not know of the group, so he thought they would assume just Dumbledore's relation. Seeing that the young man digested the information provided, the Minister continued.

"I expect to remain Minister for another week or so, possibly until the end of the month; but after that, you can all bet that Voldemort will have free reign otherwise."

With a sad smile, Scrimgeur continued.

"You can't change others or the past, but you can change yourself and your future, and that's what I'm doing with this."

When asked about changing the law so no Death Eaters can become minister, he explained that the law can only be passed with Wizengamot, and it would take too long for that now. While he could issue a Ministerial Decree to that effect, "Ministerial decrees can be revoked easily, whereas a law cannot be. It would not be helpful now." If such law had been passed while Voldemort was gone.... It was too late for that, of course.

While Harry and Ginny were overwhelmed with this information, the Minister took his leave, his head held high and obviously satisfied that his job to secure that future of Britain was now in 'good' hands. Sure, they were only teenagers, but that was probably good. Who better than the Boy Who Lived? After a lockdown of the Ministry, the new minister would gain a certain knowledge to unlock it during his initiation ritual, but interim minister will not. Instead, there was another method that he specified. Scrimgeour suspected that Lucius Malfoy would be the most likely candidate as minister under Voldemort's regime, and silently chuckled at how he would react when Lucius found out the method to cancel the emergency lockdown. That magical document was stored in the Minister's desk already. Despite what he told the teens, he actually did not expect to live another day. All signs were toward impending coup.

* * * *

After recovering from shock, Harry found that Scrimgeour was already gone, and decided to speak with his little group, 'the Seekers', later on when they were back in Hogwarts. It was time to continue their discussion with the goblins.

Harry and Ginny found Griphook, and discussed about what they would like to see. The goblin took them to their High Security Vault, and explained in detail what it was, how it worked, and how it was protected. The vault was indeed well protected from any outside intruders. There were even dragons around the area! Only goblin-made secure cart was immune to the fire or any attack by dragons. Inside the vault was up to the renter of the vault obviously. There were twelve Vault Entrances in a circle, facing the clearing where a few dragons flew around. Harry quietly sent the image of this area to Sol while Ginny did the same to Fawkes. Both replied with _'Yes, it's possible to enter without disturbing them'_.

Harry asked if any known Death Eaters (whom he had to name) had High Security Vaults as theirs, and Griphook shook his head, saying only Lestranges did. When they discussed about starting funding for victims of Death Eaters the other day, Griphook and Harry came to an agreement that Harry would finance it initially, but would need to make sure that no Death Eaters should have access to it. He mentioned names of known Death Eaters, and Griphook reassured them it would be done. V-DEF, or Victims of Death Eaters Fund would be managed inside the security of the Potter High Security Vault for now, until it was safe to be outside.

Once inside, Griphook asked the couple if the goblins needed to know anything about Death Eaters, clearly suspecting there was. After a quick discussion in their head, Harry explained, "We know why Voldemort did not die when the Killing Curse rebounded to him." Griphook nodded slowly without a word, but his gaze was intense.

Ginny asked the goblin, "Are you willing to give oath on your honor as goblin to keep this information as secret, and not to discuss or disclose with any being except for us Potters?"

Without hesitating, Griphook gave an oath of secrecy, and a flame of blue shot out of his right hand, encircling himself. "Any information you tell me until I come out of this vault will be kept secret. Not even our goblin king shall know it unless you give permission, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter."

Harry nodded, and continued. "Apparently, Voldemort carried out several very dark rituals, so that he has some anchors in this world so that his soul cannot pass on to the beyond. We know that Lucius Malfoy had one such anchor, and suspect Lestranges have one. Unless all the anchors were destroyed, the Dark Tosser cannot die, and that's what we are after. We realize that you cannot get us inside their vault, or any other Death Eater's, and will not bother asking. We do, however, ask for the vault numbers of known Inner Circle Death Eaters."

Once Griphook gave them a parchment about the information asked, they then discussed Runes involved in creating Hogwarts. There was many protective wards and Runes goblins contributed to early days of Hogwarts. Goblins had documents about this, but the wizarding public had no idea about their part. To Hermione's chagrin, it was not even mentioned in the _'Hogwarts, A History'_. Goblins and humans were closer then, a thousand years ago. Even house elves were more active in creating such protective ward back then. Griphook was able to point out there should be Rune-based ward on Hogwarts ground that they could utilize, when the Death Eaters did attack the school again full force. Recalling that similar information was indeed mentioned in the notes Albus Dumbledore and Lily Potter left in their respective notes, it was up to the professors to come up with defense of the Hogwarts ground based on these information.

* * * *

When they returned from the Riddle graveyard two weeks later, they knew the time had come. It was the time to end this madness. They knew the Minister was now dead as he so accurately had predicted, and thus they would be on the run. With the cauldron, they knew most, if not all, of the Horcruxes were now among them, and would not need to look for them actively... unless of course there were more than suspected. After all, no one was sure Voldemort split only into seven parts. They had identified a tiara in Room of Requirement was originally a part of the set of coronets Rowena Ravenclaw had used, and it had a note stating clearly that its counterpart was taken by evil force. Harry and Sol had secretly entered the Lestrange's Security Vault a week ago, and successfully recovered the said tiara, which indeed was a Horcrux. They were able to confirm that it was already 'spent', and had a dark crack on it.

The pressing matter now was to see if Nagini was a Horcrux, and if so, they needed to find out just how many Horcruxes Vodemort had created. This problem was unexpectedly solved, however.

The charmed parchment that Ron found at the graveyard was a message to Harry from Severus Snape. It was charmed so that everyone would see a message for one to relay the parchment to Harry. Once in possession of Harry, the message changed to read:

_"While it is very unlikely Potter will follow the leads and clues to this note, I have no choice but to place my stake on it. Nearly impossible task, yes, though Lily's son should have some insight in his thick Potter-brain, or at least, I hope so; otherwise, all is lost. This only shall be visible to you (only to you, Potter,) until it is too late, when I'm headmaster and the Dark Lord is in charge of everything. Tap this parchment with your wand, and specify time and place. I shall see you at your convenience IF you are ready to hear the truth that a Gryffindor such as yourself would not like to hear._

_Half Blood Prince"_

As an addundem, it described briefly the death of Nagini.

Somehow, Snape tricked Wormtail into casting a severing charm in the direction of Nagini once, killing it instantly. It enraged Voldemort to no end, killing Wormtail. It was carefully planned, and no evidence linking himself to the deed so that he would not be blamed. Nagini's body was thoroughly investigated for possible hexes and charmed items (including Horcruxes) by Snape under order from Voldemort, and turned up empty. The Dark Lord ordered him to dispose of Wormtail, and he complied by arranging the notice-me-not charm and a charmed parchment for Harry.

Initially, the Dark Lord had ordered Snape to take the corpse to the Order Headquarters, but since no one was able to find it, signifying the new Fidelius in place, he proposed that the graveyard be used. It was the location where the blood of Harry Potter was 'forcibly taken', and where Pettigrue was granted the silver hand. Snape argued that though there was no longer important items there, the Order or Potter might find it worthy of investigating if they found the body, and it would distract them from doing whatever mission the Death Eaters were doing at the time. Voldemort found the logic to be sound, and agreed to the use of Riddle graveyard.

Harry had to confirm if Nagini was truly dead. They did have all the known Horcruxes already: the Diary and the Gaunts ring, destroyed; Ravenclaw's cauldron, Ravenclaw's tiara, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket. Add Lord Voldemort himself, then they had seven 'soulets'. Seven, the most magical number. Now the question was: Had he created seventh Horcrux? Would Harry be included as a Horcrux, too, though there had been no ritual to complete the process at the time the cursed scar was created? Maybe severing the soul 'seven times' was considered most powerful? Or did that mean the soul was 'completely' severed? How many times could a soul be severed? Their research did indicate a soul would become unstable as it was ripped. How many was too many? No one knew the answer to these questions. Voldemort indeed had 'gone no other wizards had gone'.

They really were now walking into an unknown territory. They were the seekers of something unknown. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna, and Remus Lupin discussed their next move, and agreed that they had to contact Severus Snape, no matter what. Sending an owl was risky, but they could not send messages via any other means. Use of a phoenix would give away one of the best advantages they had over Death Eaters, and they didn't know what kind of situation Snape would be in. Using the 'usual' method of communication would be best.

Picking out a name for themselves to be used in owl post and other notes, Lupin came up with the name 'Hsu' to mask their true identity. It was a relatively common Chinese name which would not raise much suspicion. HSU, for 'Hogwarts Seekers of the Unknown'. On the other hand, they had to make sure that Snape was able to identify the letter from Harry and no one else.

When Snape confronted Harry and told he was the Half Blood Prince, there was no one around. No other students should know, and Lupin did not know of that term, so it was probably reasonable to assume using the title to address Snape would let him know the letter was from Harry, or at least from his group.

After going over several details, Hermione wrote a letter addressed to Severus Snape on its envelope.

_Half Blood Prince,_

_We have discovered about the extent of your involvement with one of the Black heirs some years ago, and would like to discuss its implications._

_Please pick up a parchment at the Leaky Cauldron left with Tom, the bartender, at your earliest convenience. It is addressed to the one with this letter showing 'HSU' in the back. Make sure to bring this letter to the place, as you will need it as identification._

_I look forward to meeting you._

_Sincerely,_

_HSU_

*

Meeting Snape was a tricky affair, to say the least. It was inevitable sooner or later, but if there was even a small possibility that he had some valuable information about Horcruxes, Harry and company had to swallow their pride, put aside personal glitches, and needed to get together with him one way or the other. Sure, Severus Snape was an accomplished Occlumens and Legilimens, but they had been trained properly, too. The only possible shortcomings they had would have been their lack of experience... but it was simply impossible to overlook the opportunity. It had to be done.

It took place in the Shrieking Shack, with Ron and Hermione at his side. Remus, Ginny, Neville and Luna were all standing by just in case with Sol and Fawkes unknown to either of the trio, and made sure that the ex-professor did not have any other tag-along.

The meeting was actually civil, with neither Harry nor Snape raising their voices, but took every self control Harry had not to attack him. But in the end, he saw Severus Snape in a completely new light, and in turn, Snape saw Harry as Lily's son, rather than an arrogant child Snape had liked to dub him in the past. Snape gave Harry his memory of how the Dark Lord's appearance changed over time, as an evidence of how many Horcruxes he had created in the past. It confirmed what Harry and his friends had suspected that one could only sever his or her soul so many times.

According to Snape's research in Arithmancy, a soul can be split up to seven times -- after which the soul is 'perfectly' severed that it can no longer be full, even if all the 'soulets' were put together. The proof to this theory was fairly simple; after his explanation, that was. Snape shared his memory of a conversation that took place a month ago at the Malfoy Manor. Voldemort got enraged that an old diary had been destroyed; yes, the diary that the Dark Lord had entrusted to Lucius Malfoy so many years ago. Apparently, Lucius did not understand what the diary truly had been. However, more importantly, it meant that the soulet in the diary never had merged with Voldemort. Then, where did it go?

In addition, while Harry may have had a part of Voldemort's 'soulet', Voldemort did not carry out the necessary ritual at that time, so that it only meant his damaged soul must have been very unstable for the connection to form. The fact that the soulet was now gone from Harry meant there was no more Horcruxes to deal with. Snape was shocked to find that all Horcruxes had been accounted for, and gave Harry a rare smile, and with renewed vigor and determination, went back to the Death Eaters to do his part.

Once they reassembled in the Headmistress' office, they knew it was time. They could not afford for the school to be reopened with Death Eaters as professors as Snape mentioned it would occur, once the Department of the Mysteries was accessed by Malfoy. Fortunately, it was unexplectedly delayed, giving them some time, thanks to the ingenius planning of Scrimgeour, but all of them knew it was only temporary. Snape explained that there had been an 'election' where only the Death Eaters had participated: Lucius Malfoy was formally 'elected' as the new minister, not the interim one, so that they were now able to access all the documents and signet. There was one month delay, but Hogwarts would open again.

* * * *

The next day, the Daily Prophet announced that very news. However, it detailed how it changed so that not all witches and wizards could attend. Any purebloods could attend without any reservation, but all halfbloods and muggleborns had to register at the Ministry and obtain permit to attend. Snape had warned against going to register, however, as it meant taking the Dark Mark or getting executed.

Just as Snape had told them, the Prophet announced that the new headmaster was appointed, naming Severus Snape. Also, major change in staff was announced, sacking essentially entire current staff, replacing with many names previously cited as possible Death Eater relation (i.e., they were Death Eaters). It was clear to Harry and company that Voldemort was promoting pureblood supremacy campaign, and using education to develop their forces. Hogwarts Express would operate on the first of October, instead of September.

By then, most of the Dumbledore's Army members and their families were at Hogwarts. It was simply not safe elsewhere. Hogwarts became the safe haven for those against the Dark Lord, and it was obvious that the Death Eaters will be attacking the school.

Those who could afford to had left the country. There were other families who tried to protect themselves on their own, but it had proven futile time after time. Every wizard and witch in Britain had to choose: Dark Lord, the Chosen One, or neither and flee oversea to buy time.

Before the students left on the Hogwarts Express following the funeral of Dumbledore, every student was given an Emergency Portkey which would transport them to Hogwarts ground. Anyone who portkeyed would then be escorted to Hospital Wing to check their health, where any evidence of Dark Mark would also be investigated.

Most of the upper year Gryffindors turned up, so did Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Surprisingly, some of the Slytherins also showed. Ron was reluctant to accept them into their fold, but after no Dark Mark was found, and their reasoning for not joining the Dark Lord was explained, he relented.

Susan Bones, Daphne Greenglass, and Patil twins lead their respective Houses to unite under the banner of 'HSU', now dubbed 'Hogwarts Strike Unit'. For the first time in decades, Hogwarts students had united in a single goal: to protect their own rights. Everyone had seen what the Dark Lord's agenda would lead to. Witches would be taken advantage of in a despicable way, and all muggleborn and 'half blood' wizards and witches would be put to labor no one would want: in a servitude to pure bloods.

Officially, the goblins were neutral. However, Griphook and Ragnok had led many goblins on the Hogwarts ground to complete Rune-based traps by tweaking the ancient ward developed a thousand years ago by their own ancestors along with the Founders and house elves. Dobby, Winky and other Hogwarts house elves were doing what they could to enhance the wards surrounding Hogwarts castle.

Harry, Ron, and Remus discussed with others, and sent a statement to the Dark Lord and the media: basically, they declared Voldemort and his Death Eaters a war on their terms. It would ensure that the attack would not occur unexpectedly, as Voldemort would be too proud to attack without any preamble.

_Dear Mr. Tom M Riddle,_

_May I be the first to congratulate you in being the first ever wizard to successfully complete your coup of a civilized nation in over four hundred years. Even Herr Grindelwald was unable to do so, and I'm sure it had been quite a feat by itself._

_I'm sorry if you feel offended by my addressing you by your birth name; I know that you prefer the self proclaimed title of Lord Voldemort, but you and I both know there is no such thing under royal jurisdiction._

_Now, myself and many of my friends have Hogwarts under the leadership of Headmistress McGonagall, and do not recognize your ministry's idea of pureblood-only school, as the Four Founders had clearly promoted unity, rather than discord among witches and wizards._

_As such, you and your so-called friends are hereby invited to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on 15th day of September at 10 o'clock to settle this matter of conflict in definitive way. It is the day where youth would pay respect to elders in a certain country in Orient: what better way is there than to pay tribute to our Four Founders by showing the world of our heritage and unity?_

_Please understand that the wards of Hogwarts have been upgraded since the days of our late Headmaster Dumbledore, and as such, will not allow anyone with your mark until then. At the stroke of 10, the gate from Hogsmeade shall open slowly to allow your procession._

_There will be a welcome ceremony on the ground to accommodate many guests that you will bring no doubt, and all proceeds shall follow the event. I shall be personally welcoming you on the ground, of course, and would be honored to debate on the subjects at hand. However, I may not be about if anyone feels necessary to approach the school before that day, as it takes time to prepare for such a magnificent event. After all, our previous meetings had not been so pleasant. We shall look forward to meeting you once again._

_Until then, I remain:_

_The Boy Who Lived_

_AN: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. If anyone is still following this story, I thank you. It has been very trying to fine-tune things, but here is the latest. No, it is not the last chapter even if its title says 'completion', though I think the next chapter would be. Initially, I had planned for a story with total of seven chapters, but it simply became too long a chapter that I had to split. Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving. Yelaisha.  
_


	8. Chapter 8 Conclusion

**Harry Potter and the Seekers of the Unknown**

_**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters belong to JK Rowling, as you all know.**_

_**A/N: This was planned after HBP but before the release of DH, and any similarities with DH would be coincidental.**_

**8. Conclusion**

Love.

That was Dumbledore's interpretation of 'the power the Dark Lord knows not'.

It made sense, as Voldemort never received nor expressed love to anyone's knowledge. If anything, he regarded it as some form of silly emotion that would weaken a wizard, as he had told Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic a few years ago.

Yet, Ginny Weasley had to agree with Dumbledore on this. Love takes many different forms to express itself: it is the way one does things -- the way Harry acts, the way he speaks... it just showed how different he is from any of the Death Eaters or the Dark Lord.

When she mentally reviewed the course of the events that lead up to this fateful day of September 15, it was clear that Harry showed many beings how he was: goblins, house elves, his friends and colleagues, and of course, his fiancé. He was full of courage, compassion, care, thought, and... well, love. Because of that, he and she now had a very special bond with two of the most powerful magical creatures, and had been able to work with both the house elves and goblins. It would have been almost impossible for any other wizards or witches. Certainly, it was not 'pure blood' way. Regardless of the prophecy, Ginny knew how special her fiancé was.

Giving Harry her brightest smile, she lead themselves into the Great Hall for briefing where all staff and current residents of Hogwarts gathered. With quiet conviction and calm confidence, the couple approached the head table where Ron and Hermione were arguing something very irrelevant to the day's event: S.P.E.W, of all things. Well, certain things never did change despite of all and any situation... it was strangely reassuring.

* * * *

One week.

That was how long there had been before the Hogwarts received its guests, Minister Lucius Malfoy, and more importantly, Tom M. Riddle. Even if the letter Harry and friends had sent advised not to, it was not to go without any attempts to infiltrate past the wards of the school, now a war castle.

It was to be expected, of course. Thus, the wards consisted of three layers: notice, warning, and execution.

The 'notice' layer would simply warn the intruder that one may not pass through, and would cause him or her to feel himself/herself being urgently needed elsewhere.

If the intruder tries to ignore it, then he or she will step on the 'warning' layer where one would see a statement of warning in front of his/her own eyes, clearly in plain English, written across in the air with fire. The intruder then would be surrounded by fire except for his/her way out.

The last layer, the 'execution' layer consisted of two layers of its own. One layer was based on Runes etched on the ground which worked as reusable portkey that automatically sends anyone steps on it to the front of the gate beyond the 'notice' layer. Anyone who could bypass the portkey was to be stunned, bound, and transported to dungeon of the castle for interrogation.

By September 15, there had been close to a dozen people who had been caught by this last layer: no one knew how many more had been sent away. Among the dozen people who had been caught was Draco Malfoy. Under veritaserum, he testified that he was marked as a Death Eater, but was severely punished for being unable to carry out what he had been assigned to do, and was sent to 'prove his usefulness' to attempt to infiltrate the school without alerting anyone. Yes, he carried an emergency portkey, but was useless due to anti-portkey ward in place, and was unable to do anything else. Malfoy was detained in a cell in the dungeon, where he was placed under a stasis spell so he would not do any damage to himself or to others.

All the secret passages on the Marauder's Map had been sealed by Harry, Fred, and George. The Banishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement had been sealed off with its counterpart. The one from Borgin and Burkes was actually confiscated by Kingsley as an evidence after Hogwarts' attack, and was able to remove it from the Ministry before the takeover by Voldemort. Both of the cabinets now resided in the Room of Requirement after both had been thoroughly tested for any other spells and enchantments.

The Chamber of Secrets had been turned into an evacuation area where anyone who cannot fight or who cannot protect themselves would stay for the duration. Harry had keyed Professor McGonagall to the chamber entrance, and changed the password from Parseltongue to regular English word, but only with the Headmistress and himself.

On a surface, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was getting prepared for the Debate. But underneath its surface, it was preparing itself for a war. Every one of the temporary occupants of this castle was here to protect those who were dear to him/her. It was time to act.

* * * *

The forest and the ground were both quiet that morning... probably too quiet, as if there were to be something great expected. Good or bad, not quite certain, but great. It was as if all the creatures in Hogwarts domain had suddenly decided that they had to hide themselves. The atmosphere was that of anticipation. One could almost feel it.

Then, a sound was heard beyond the gate. It was the sound of multitude of people making an appearance, then it was a sound of marching army... well, not very orderly as in muggle army, perhaps, but the people materializing there did walk in confidence, even with arrogance as if they owned this school. The wards that prevented any intrusion in the past few weeks were simply absent at that time, and Lucius Malfoy did not have any problem walking into the Hogwarts ground. Once they were inside, they formed lines to welcome their Lord. It was time for the Dark Lord to enter the castle, in order to claim it as his.

* * * *

"This is Jenny Takahashi reporting live from the ground of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, soon-to-be the site of the much discussed debate between the Ministry appointed staff and the current staff. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen on this exclusive coverage of Wizardnet News Network. I am currently with Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. Thank you for joining us, Headmistress."

"Thank you for coming to this unique event."

"I see many representatives from the Ministry as well as from various parts of the world, Headmistress. I understand that this is perhaps the most important debate since the days of the Founders. Will you please elaborate further?"

"Certainly, Ms. Takahashi. All of the arguments would actually boil down to one question: Where does magic come from? Ever since our ancestors discovered the art of magic, this has always been a topic no one has had a definitive answer to. No theory could provide enough basis to be believable without a doubt. There are many magical creatures as well, and it presented more problems to be solved, further complicating the matter. We simply do not have enough information to formulate a theory. However, from time to time, there were a few people who would like themselves to be better than others. This is actually common in any society, be it wizarding kind or muggles. History aside, we are here to present known facts and our beliefs in the open, so that we can come up with a believable theory in the origin of magic, and hopefully better understanding of ourselves."

"Yes, it is certainly a noble purpose of this debate. Joining us now, is the newly appointed headmaster by Ministry of Magic, Sevrus Snape. Thank you for joining us, Professor Snape."

"I am honored to be in this position, Ms. Takahashi. After all, blood purity issue has been around as long as the history of this fine establishment, and it is important to all of us to have some understanding."

"Would you please explain your view in this matter, Professor Snape?"

Her tone was that of calculated sweetness. She knew that this man was responsible for the death of the former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. While she or her family had never been taught in England, Dumbledore had been famous worldwide, and the news of his death was certainly shocking. Since this debate was broadcast worldwide, no one would dare proceed with violence... right?

Severus Snape had a mixed feeling about this debate. He was appointed to the position by the Ministry, even though everyone in his circle knew he was a half-blood. Personally, he did not believe in this blood purity issue either. After all, the Dark Lord himself, the most powerful wizard, was a half blood, too. If Lucius wanted to believe in that rubbish, so be it, but he would not get involved in this debate more than necessary.

"The issue of blood purity and decision to offer schooling to distinct group of children is actually up to the Board of Governors and the Ministry... Department of Education, to be exact. As ministry-appointed headmaster, also approved by the Board, my job is to make sure all eligible children would receive proper education and training in a safe environment."

He was smooth as silk, in his reasoning, of course. He was a Slytherin, after all. At the same time, it was oddly reassuring that the man's wording was indicating safety of students was important to him as well, despite his reputation in the past.

Snape went on to raise the issue at hand by stating the basic two questions relating to the blood purity. The two questions most fundamental to the very being of wizarding kind:

_'Is there a difference between muggle, squib, or wizard/witch except for magic?'_

_'Where is magic from?'_

The first was relatively easy. McGonagall pointed out that a well-known fact among healers that there is none genetically. It was a part of the Human Genome Project, and groups from United States and Japan had independently shown that genetic makeup did not significantly differ among the three, regardless of magical ability.

Snape knew of this study, and Jenny actually began to enjoy the intelligent discussion the two heads were having. There was no doubt these were two very knowledgeable individuals. Jenny had heard of this study that was published only a week ago in New England Journal of Healing that concluded:

_"Genetically speaking, there is no difference between muggles and wizards or witches."_

Twins Study suggests magical ability actually is genetically determined, at least in part, as the rate of one being magical is almost 100% when the other is among monozygotic twins. It was later found out that several factors needed to be met in order to develop magical ability, but it was still a major debate among healer community throughout the world.

The healers familiar to Muggle science knew that there had to be no difference genetically for Muggles and Wizarding kinds to be able to bear children. So then, where is the magic from? How is it that some possess it and some don't? There was simply not enough information to answer that question.

While the cordial discussion continued on, the crowd on the ground grew in size, and listened to the panel discussion taking place on the podium. Jenny noticed this, and was about to tell the other two of the procession from the gate when a fanfare sounded. Puzzled, she turned toward the commotion taking place, and the both panelists stopped the debate to look at it.

With fireworks and cheers of a crowd, a robed man walked into the arena.

From the corner of her eyes, Jenny noticed that Harry Potter rose from his chair, and gestured for the robed man, seemingly to greet him.

It was the Dark Lord followed by a group of wizards with the Ministry robes on, and the Minister of Magic, Lucius Malfoy, had already joined the Dark Lord in the procession.

For the first time since his reincarnation, Lord Voldemort made an appearance in front of the mass media.

"Tom. I'd say welcome to Hogwarts, but I'd be lying."

Because of the sudden absolute silence that greeted the Dark Lord, Harry's voice carried well throughout the field. Jenny noted that Harry Potter did not even flinch at the intense gaze of the most feared wizard on the planet.

"How did you come about that name anyway, Potter?"

Harry raised his eyebrow at that, then answered.

"You told me it was your name. Don't tell me you've forgotten?"

Apparently, this was not what he expected. The Dark Lord looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then told Harry. "No, I do not remember telling you this piece of information. But it does not matter, as that name no longer exists on this planet."

Harry only shrugged, and gestured to the seats available.

"Please have a seat, our guests. Professor McGonagall and Mr. Snape had already begun their panel discussion. I have to say, that their insight and discussion has been most enlightening, and I believe you are needed at the podium, Minister."

With that, Harry lead Lucius Malfoy onto the podium, to seat him next to Snape.

Voldemort and his Death Eaters had planned how to take over; with the worldwide media, they could not just overpower them by force. No matter how strong magically Voldemort was, they had to be careful not to alienate Britain from other magical countries. Individually, there was no match against the Dark Lord, now that Dumbledore was gone. However, international politics was an entirely different matter, and demanded they be careful.

Once they were seated, the discussion was involving the Minister of Magic, Lucius Malfoy, and Madam Pomphrey, resident healer of Hogwarts. Once Snape established that he was working with the Ministry about the education program, and his view did not matter, he deferred the question about muggle registration act to the Minister. Madam Pomphrey asked,

"Your objective of the research is to establish how the muggleborns manage to 'steal' magic from pureblood magic users, correct?"

"Absolutely."

"Then, please hear me out, and answer my question."

Lucius nodded, gesturing her to go on.

"Genetically, there is no difference between nonmagical and magical. The only difference is whether one has magic or not. On the other hand, the magical beings such as house elves and goblins are all magical, no exception. It then follows that somehow, at least some of the humans had acquired the ability of magic in the past, quite possibly from other magical beings, or from something entirely different. According to this theory, it is the pureblood who had 'stolen' magic from other creatures initially, then passed it on to others."

Most of the all the Death Eaters had furious expressions, with the notable exception of the Dark Lord himself, who appeared to have found this argument quite entertaining.

"Another theory was that all the humans used to be magical, but over many millenia, majority of human beings had lost magic, due to either natural selection, or to some other factors currently unknown. Theoretically, I could not find any faults to these theories other than your arguments of 'it simply cannot be true'. Unfortunately, it just does not give enough argument. Care to elaborate your argument?"

Harry could almost hear their gritting sound. They were at the boiling point, and this argument must have pushed where it counted. He silently sent a signal to his group using the DA coin. It was time.

Without a warning, someone in the delegates from Voldemort had shouted "_Stupefy!_" The red beam of light was absorbed by the suddenly erected shield in front of the podium.

In an instant, the ground glowed: Many of the Runes now shone through the hiding earth, completing the trap ward. All the Death Eaters found themselves unable to move. The trap ward was designed to work on people with the Dark Mark. Within seconds, the Death Eaters with Voldemort were stunned, and bound with a notable exception of the Dark Lord, who simply did not react except for shielding incoming curses. Voldemort did not look bothered at all.

And it was for a good reason. Just as the ward got activated, there was another commotion coming from the Forbidden Forest. Small number of Death Eaters lead by Belatrix Lestrange appeared out of nowhere, and began hexing people nearby. In addition, a few giants slowly emerged from the forest, and with one swing, destroyed Hagrid's hut.

Voldemort's order to Belatrix was simple: destroy the Rune anchors that hold the trap. He had anticipated the trap would be waiting him, and used his inner circle members to lead different groups; none of his delegates were from his inner circle. Belatrix would lead her group of Death Eaters and giants to do just that, and should not take much time... if there was no opposition.

Harry and other HSU leaders quickly gathered their group together, and countered the attack, while professors dealt with people on the ground trap, as there were quite a few people without the Dark Mark, but was working for the Dark Lord.

Another signal, and the temperature of the ground dropped by a few degrees.

Next signal, and the werewolves made themselves known from the gate, lead by Fenrir Greyback. This was anticipated, and a small group of aurors and Remus Lupin intercepted them before the werewolves entered the ground proper. The battle was short-lived, however, thanks to an order of goblin warriors portkeying in. The werewolves were quickly subdued, and Greyback was killed by well-placed cutting hex by Lupin during their duel.

As soon as the dementors were spotted, Harry and Ginny sent their patronuses, joined by many of the Hogwarts students'. Sol and Fawkes flamed in, and within seconds, there was no dementors left. For the first time in the history of magical Britain, there was no dementor in existence. Its impact was quite impressive, too. Because the dementors were so easily defeated, all the defenders were quite capable, and energetic still.

Even then, giants posed a lot of problems for the defenders of the castle. The only way to defend from giants was by brute force, and Hagrid and Grawp fought very hard, but were simply overpowered... until a roar of the magical beasts materialized in front of them.

It was Charlie, who was successfully brought a couple of dragons from Romania. Over the past week, he made a deal with Romanian preserve, and brought them over with a few of his colleagues. The dragons had rested for the past two days, in the Forbidden Forest, and were more than enough to counter the efforts of giants. Sol was flying above the dragons, seemingly directing their counterattack.

During the commotion with the giants, Belatrix LeStrange was able to filter through the defense, killing two aurors, and struck one of the Rune stones that held the trap ward on the ground. As soon as it was hit, the ward became temporarily unstable. It was only a few seconds before it was restored, but it was enough for the Dark Lord to free himself and a few others. By then, most of the Death Eaters who came in with the Dark Lord had been subdued and transported to the prison cells. Only a handful of his forces remained, but he was far from giving up.

That was when his inner circle Death Eaters gathered around their lord. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, who were at the podium for the debate, and were quickly taken at the first sign of battle. It was unfortunate, but the Dark Lord was not to be disturbed by that.

The fight that ensued was short-lived, however. The InstaShield cards had proven extremely valuable, and there was no casualty among the Hogwarts Strike Force and the Order of the Phoenix. Without their primary and most effective tools, namely the Unforgivable Curses, the remaining Death Eaters were quickly taken down, and within thirty minutes, only the Dark Lord was left, fighting for his pride as he'd discovered that his emergency portkey not working.

Many of the aurors were fighting to subdue him with no success, however. Then, Voldemort was coming toward Harry. The Dark Lord knew that it was either himself or the Boy Who Lived, as the prophecy predicted. No one else was his equal, and he had to prove to the world that Lord Voldemort could not be defeated by anyone.

"Hello, Tom."

Harry's voice was quiet, but clear to all, and everyone else stopped their attempt to take down the Dark Lord, except a few who backed Harry up, Ginny right next to him. Hermione and Ron were closely behind to the right, with Neville and Luna to the left, and Lupin on the other side of Ginny.

"You seem lonely out here. Let me help you join your folks, if you will?"

"Potter. You seem to overlook the fact that I cannot die."

"And you forget that I am your equal, as the thrice damned prophecy had predicted."

"You obviously do not know what you're talking about, young Potter. There is simply no way that you can be my equal. You are not immortal, but I am."

"Oh, but you are not either, Tom."

"Don't use that muggle name, boy! ... " The Dark Lord spat, but suddenly his demeanor changed as if all of a sudden, what Harry told so casually reached his brain.

"What do you mean I am not immortal?"

Thus, the Boy Who Lived began to explain about how Dumbledore had discovered Riddle's secret, and together, they were able to destroy all of his precious Horcruxes: The diary, Slytherin's locket, Slytherin's ring, Ravenclaw's cauldron, Ravenclaw's diadem, and Hufflepuff's cup.

Slowly, the Dark Lord raised his wand to level with Harry's chest. Void of all emotion, he started to cast the Killing Curse, but at the last second, changed its direction slightly to the side... at Ginny.

In an instant, with their practiced ease, Harry and Ginny with hands together, spoke, "_Refracto Maxima!_"

As if in slow motion, all of the people gathered on the ground watched in awe when the sickly green curse flew at Ginny, but somehow, it traveled around the couple and flew back at Tom Riddle, who were in shock. At the last millisecond, however, the Dark Lord was able to summon a rock to intercept the curse.

Harry did not wait for another second, however. Concentrating hard, he raised the Gryffindor's Sword, which now was growing with golden light, and charged forward. His move was lightening fast, as if he had apparated the short distance, and the next second, the lightening seemed to crack from the sword as it cut through the armor of the Dark Lord as easily as a knife cut through butter. There was no bang, nor scream, but in the end, the Dark Lord was no more. An instant later, the cheer from the crowd was deafening.

At that moment, the Gryffindor's Sword was more than just a sword. It was something of a legend. If one looks at the first edition of Hogwarts, a History, it was mentioned there that there had been a story, considered a legend, about the sword long before it came to be known as that. Ancient legend had it that only the best and most powerful wizard was able to conjure a sword of light to protect another, based on pure love. It had said to penetrate even the best shield there was to save the one intended from otherwise imminent death by a hand of evil. Voldemort did have many protection and strong armor, though any defense was meaningless against Harry's last strike, it seemed. Many people at the scene later testified that the Sword of Gryffindor became something more, it seemed, at the time of Harry's attack then. No one knew for sure, of course, for Harry was not available for comment after the battle.

* * * *

"'People can be frightened of change,' Albus Dumbledore once told me." Minerva started. Everyone had his or her eyes toward her now.

She continued on.

"It's fine to have your own opinion. Everyone is different, and one is entitled to have one's opinion different from everyone else. Problems arise when that person tries to force others to have the same opinion. That is when it is not allowed.

We may have our own opinion only when we acknowledge that others are allowed to have a different opinion. The purpose of our panel discussion today was not to reach which side was right: we wanted to acknowledge each side had its own reasons to believe. We wanted to clarify the issues.

However, we need to keep certain rights above all. That is why we have law and ministry. Basic rights should be allowed no matter what 'blood' you may have, and should never be an issue. That was why we fought Tom Riddle. That is why we need to make sure that our law is just and fair. We need to follow the example of our Muggle brethren in making it possible to honor each and every one's right.

We need to make sure our future generation will never need to worry about this basic issue, and I believe, as our colleagues do, that we need to have this basic right extended to werewolves, veelas, goblins, elves, centaurs, and others, not just humans. One's life, after all, is life.

You see, goblins don't need us per se. House elves don't need us. Centaurs don't need us. But they're our neighbors, too.

A thousand years ago, our Founders got together with our magical brethren, and with their assistance, they'd built this school. Look what we have accomplished today! Alone, we had trouble dealing with Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters for almost half a century. But Harry lead us to be on equal footing with goblins, house elves, and centaurs, and we worked as a team, today. The result was... well, you all saw what happened. You now know we can accomplish much greater when we work together for the same goal.

As you've seen for yourselves, when we get together, united in our goal, we can achieve anything. This, fellow witches and wizards, is our task. This is our challenge to you all. This change needs to happen.

It is time for us to put away our prejudices, and work together to make our future a better place. May this be a reminder for all, that together, we can do the impossible. Together, we can be so much more than what we are!

Thank you all, and by Merlin, may the peace be with you."

*

*

**Afterwards:**

Well, thus ends the story of the Boy Who Lived becoming the Man Who Coordinated the Conquest. It was Harry who successfully united all sentient beings to fight against the common foe. Ministry of Magic eventually evolved into a government body for all sentient beings, and 'British Federation of Sentient Beings' was established after a decade of debates and deliberation.

As to what our favorite 'Seekers of the Unkown' did after the debate? Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna all took their NEWTs after a year during which they attended Hogwarts as the seventh years. Upon graduation, they kept in touch, and continued their friendship, but chose different careers.

Neville took over for Sprout at Hogwarts as Herbology Professor after spending a few years as an apprentice.

Luna became a healer at St. Mungo's.

Ron became auror, and was quite successful investigating many crimes over the years. Sometimes, he got help from his friends in quite a few of very dangerous missions, and went on to be known worldwide as one of the most reliable aurors to solve a complicated cases.

Hermione worked with Snape on Lily Potter's note to invent a cure for lycanthropy, 'Lily's Eyes'. Remus was the first to receive the cure, and lived with Tonks 'happily ever after'.

Harry and Ginny decided to travel around the world after their graduation and wedding that followed. It was like an extended honeymoon, lasting for an entire year meeting many different cultures. Once returned, both of the couple joined Pride of Portrees to play professional Quidditch for ten years, then they founded Potter Enterprise, inventing magic version of Muggle devices such as cell phone (initially dubbed 'portable floo'), personal car and computers. The couple worked closely with Fred and George, and some of his former classmates later joined them in the enterprise. It was to 'seek' out more 'unknown', turning into something useful for the wizarding world. The Potters did not like to be in the middle of attention, but tried to help where they could in making the world a better place to live for children with their influence.

**The End**

*****

***  
**

_**AN: **__That's it! Thank you all for bearing with me. It took more than a year to complete this chapter... I am so sorry, and glad that it's over. For those of you who feels this conflict was too easy, my response is, 'I like happy endings'. :-)_

_In case you got confused how the events played out, here's the timetable in my story._

June 1 (Sat) ---- Dumbledore's funeral. Hogwarts Express leaves for London

June 1-14 ------- Harry spends time at Number 4 Privet Dr. (second half with Ron and Hermione)

June 14 (Fri) ---- The trio arrives the Burrow. McGonagall visits; underage law lifted

June 15 (Sat) --- Apparition Test. Order proposal at Hogwarts. Ginny purchases her wand. Sol and Fawkes arrive.

June 21 (Sun) -- Wedding of Bill and Fleur

June 22 (Mon) -- Weasleys, Grangers, and Harry move to Hogwarts

June 28 (Sun) -- Visit to Godric's Hollow

June 30 (Tue) --- Harry and Ginny visit to Gringotts to examine Potter Vault

July (early) ------ Neville and Luna join at Hogwarts

July 31 (Fri) ----- Harry's Birthday Party at Potter Manor

Aug 11 (Tue) ---- Ginny's Birthday Party at Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny engage.

Aug 12 (Wed) --- Harry and Ginny visit Gringotts. Dementers attack the Diagon Alley.

Aug 13 (Thu) ---- Returning to Gringotts. Meeting with Minister Scrimgeur

Aug 14-15 ------- Installing DumblyDoor in Harry's houses

Aug 16 (Sun) ---- Slytherin's locket destroyed at Grimmauld Place

Aug 21 (Fri) ------ Ravenclaw's tiara recovered from Lestrange High Security Vault

Aug 28 (Fri) ------ HSU went to Riddle Manor. Ministry fell to Voldemort

Sept 6 (Sun) ----- Meeting with Snape

Sept 7 (Mon) ----- Daily Prophet announces new Hogwarts program

Sept 15 (Tue) ---- The Debate / 'Battle of Hogwarts'

_The idea of the potion "Lily's Eyes" is from 'Harry Potter and the Final Battle' by werforpsu._


End file.
